JACKSON -- Nearly one week after garnering his first postseason award as an ITA Scholar-Athlete Award winner for the 2006-07 season, senior netman and captain Russell Turley was chosen Thursday by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as a First Team selection to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District VI At-Large Team.

In the at-large program, nominations are limited to three per school per gender. Thus, each institution may nominate a total of three men's at-large candidates and three women's at-large candidates. If an institution participates in both the college and the university divisions, it may nominate a total of three men and three women between the two divisions. There is no limit to the number of candidates that may be nominated for a particular sport.

Eligible sports are women's bowling, women's crew, men's and women's fencing, women's field hockey, men's and women's golf, men's and women's gymnastics, men's and women's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's rifle, men's and women's skiing, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, men's volleyball, men's and women's water polo and men's wrestling.

To be nominated, the student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for his/her career. No athlete is eligible until he/she has reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his/her current institution. In the cases of transfers, graduate students and junior college graduates, the athlete must have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution to be eligible.

As a 2007 Academic All-District VI First Team Selection, Turley's name will automatically be placed on the ballot for Academic All-America recognition which will be released on Tuesday, June 12. Student-athletes on the Academic All-District second team do not advance to the national ballot but are provided a further opportunity for recognition.

2007 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District Men's At-Large Team