Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Travis Nissley Named Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Four Bison Named to PL All-Academic Team
11/23/2010 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 23, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Just hours after becoming Bucknell's 119th Academic All-American, Bison football senior linebacker Travis Nissley (Mount Joy, Pa./Manheim Central) was named the Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row on Tuesday afternoon. Additionally, Nissley, junior linebacker Tim Bolte (Towson, Md./Loyola Blakefield), senior offensive lineman Jason Vollmar (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) and senior defensive lineman John von Paris (Upper Falls, Md./John Carroll) were named to the inaugural Patriot League All-Academic Football Team.
Nissley is the fourth player in Patriot League history to be named Scholar-Athlete in back-to-back years, joining Bucknell's David Berardinelli (1991, 1992) and Rob Glus (1993, 1994) and Fordham's Barry Cantrell (1996, 1997).
Nissley, who owns a 3.96 cumulative GPA while majoring in mechanical engineering, has earned a number of academic awards over the past year. Earlier this fall he was named a National Football Foundation National Scholar Athlete and one of 16 finalists nationwide for the Campbell Trophy. As part of that recognition, Nissley earned an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship and will be attending the National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 7 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.
Nissley posted three perfect 4.0 GPAs in his first six semesters and has been a regular member of Bucknell's Dean's List and the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll during his time in Orange and Blue. He was also elected to Tau Beta Pi, a National Engineering Honor Society, was a recipient of the Charles F. White Memorial Prize for scholar-athletes and is a member of the Bucknell Classics Club. Additionally, Nissley has volunteered with Toys for Tots and the National Marrow Donor Program.
On the football field, Nissley, a team co-captain, finished the 2010 campaign with a team-high 63 tackles, and his 256 career stops were most among current Bison. He also posted 2.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup. Nissley wrapped up his career with two double-figure tackle outings in his last four games, including a team-high 10 last Saturday at Holy Cross.
A three-year starter who played in all 44 games over the last four years, Nissley recorded a career-high 93 tackles as a junior to rank sixth in the Patriot League.
An Academic All-District II choice, Bolte was a member of the Dean's List in each of his first four semesters at Bucknell and is a two-time member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. He owns a 3.89 GPA and is majoring in political science and East Asian Studies.
Bolte has spent time volunteering at the Donald Heiter Community Center, as a basketball referee, at the Carroll Manor Lax clinic and in Philadelphia with underprivileged children and the homeless. Additionally, Bolte was a recipient of the NFF and College Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete Award and the Dr. Ford Locker Medal (varsity letter with academic excellence) while in high school.
In 2010, Bolte, a first-year starter, posted a career-high 57 tackles to rank second on the team. He started all 11 games, posted two pass breakups and recovered one fumble. He registered a career-high nine tackles in back-to-back games near the end of the campaign.
A management major with a 3.76 GPA, including a 3.83 last spring, Vollmar was a team co-captain this fall. He finished his career with a start streak of 22 consecutive games. He started all 11 contests at right guard as a junior and then moved to center for his senior season.
Vollmar leads the football team's bible study, received the George V. McGee Investment Studies Endowment and is a Toys for Tots volunteer each winter.
Von Paris owns a 3.54 GPA while majoring in accounting. He totaled 19 tackles, registered 1.5 tackles for loss, tallied one sack and intercepted one pass this year while appearing in all 11 games. Von Paris, who recorded 75 career tackles, saw action in 34 consecutive contests to end his career.
A member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll and Bucknell Dean's List, von Paris earned a Congressional nomination to West Point and he participated in "Baltimore Reads", a program that distributes books to inner-city homes and schools.
To be eligible for the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and the Academic All-Patriot League Team, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and be a starter or key player in his/her sport. Freshmen or students in their first academic year at their school are not eligible for the honor.
The Academic All-Patriot League Team has been added for all sports in the 2010-11 seasons to honor additional student-athletes who excel both on and off the field. The Football Academic All-Patriot League Team has 14 student-athletes to equal one-half the size of the sport's All-Patriot League First Team.
Bucknell's four selections to the Academic All-Patriot League Team tied Lafayette for the top spot. Lehigh and Holy Cross each had two selections, while Colgate and Georgetown had one honoree apiece.
Football Academic All-Patriot League Team
Tim Bolte, Bucknell, Jr.
Travis Nissley, Bucknell, Sr.
Jason Vollmar, Bucknell, Sr.
John von Paris, Bucknell, Sr.
Greg Sullivan, Colgate, Sr.
Phillip Oladeji, Georgetown, Sr.
Bill Edger, Holy Cross, Sr.
Mike McCabe, Holy Cross, Sr.
Brandon Ellis, Lafayette, Jr.
Doug Gerowski, Lafayette, Sr.
Nick Nardone, Lafayette, Sr.
Ryan O'Neil, Lafayette, Jr.
Tom Randazza, Lehigh, Sr.
Tanner Rivas, Lehigh, Jr.
Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Travis Nissley, Bucknell
