Hamden, CT -- Quinnipiac University baseball player Ryan Rizzo (East Northport, N.Y.) was named to the ESPN the Magazine/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Third Team in the University Division Baseball category. The announcement was made on May 30, 2006 by CoSIDA.

The CoSIDA Academic All-America program is often considered the most prestigious academic honor a collegiate student-athlete can receive.

Rizzo was named a first-team All-Northeast Conference selection in outfield as he led the league in batting at .402 and hits with 74. He was also in the top ten in slugging percentage (6th - .533), on-base percentage (4th - .466), runs scored (6th - 43), and total bases (3rd - 98). In 2005, he helped lead the Bobcats to their first-ever NEC championship as he batted .550 over the four-game tournament earning Most Valuable Player accolades.

Rizzo, who posted a 3.83 GPA in economics, has been named to the NEC All-Academic team in every season, while at Quinnipiac. In addition, he is a three-time Quinnipiac Male Scholar Athlete, an award that is given to the athlete with the highest GPA per class.

Rizzo is the only player from a Connecticut school to earn this honor this season. In addition, he is just one of two players from District I University Division to earn Academic All-America.

Rizzo is just the second person in Quinnipiac history to earn National Academic All-America honors. In 1996, softball player Kerri McMahon was an Academic All-American.