Nielsen, Whiting, Cooper Earn Academic All-MWC Honors

COLORADO SPRINGS -- BYU's Eric Nielsen, Trent Whiting and Nathan Cooper were three of 15 student-athletes recognized today for academic excellence as members of the 2001 Men's Basketball Academic All-Mountain West Conference Team. Cooper was one of four repeat selections to the team, having also earned the award in 2000.

To be eligible for selection to the academic team, a student-athlete must have completed at least one academic term at the member institution, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and be a starter or significant contributor to the team. In addition to the three Cougars earning the honor, four players from Utah, two each from Colorado State, New Mexico and San Diego State and one student-athlete from UNLV and Wyoming comprised the 2001 squad.

The 2001 Men's Basketball Academic All-Mountain West Conference Team is listed below (*notes repeat selection).

Name                School    Class      GPA    Major
*Nathan Cooper      BYU       Senior     3.09   Portuguese	
Eric Nielsen        BYU       Junior     3.34   Civil Engineering
Trent Whiting       BYU       Senior     3.20   Business Management	
*David Fisher       CSU       Senior     3.37   Fishery Biology	
*Brian Greene       CSU       Sophomore  3.31   Business Administration
Brian Smith         UNM       Graduate   3.72   Sports Administration	
Alvin Broussard     UNM       Freshman   3.20   Undeclared	
Karlo Kovacic       SDSU      Junior     3.93   International Business
Christopher Walton  SDSU      Freshman   3.08   Business	
Danny Brotherson    UNLV      Senior     3.19   Communications	
Lance Allred        Utah      Freshman   3.35   History	
Chris Burgess       Utah      Junior     3.00   Communication	
Trace Caton         Utah      Sophomore  3.80   Spanish	
*Michael Puzey      Utah      Sophomore  3.57   Pre-Physical Therapy	
David Rottinghaus   Wyoming   Freshman   3.15   Business
(*notes repeat selection)