For the second consecutive year, University of Kentucky senior offensive lineman Hayden Lane has been named first-team Academic All-America as voted by the College Sports Information Directors of America and sponsored by ESPN The Magazine.
Lane (Lawrenceville, Ga.) graduated in three years with a 3.95 grade-point average and a double major in Anthropology and Classics. Currently, he is in his second year in his master?s in History with a 3.86 GPA. On the field, Lane has started 26 games in the offensive line during his Wildcat career.
Lane becomes the first player in school history to be named first-team Academic All-America for two years. To be nominated for Academic All-America, a player must have at least a 3.2 career GPA, be a starter or key reserve, and be a sophomore or higher in academic and athletic standing.
?Hayden has been an absolute pleasure to coach,? said UK Coach Rich Brooks. ?He has been a consummate team player. To perform at the level he has achieved, in such a difficult curriculum, is almost unheard of and to play football in a great conference and to achieve All-American status as a student is amazing. He deserves every bit of it.?
Bowl Ticket Reservation Pace Continues to Surge: Pre-reserved ticket orders for UK?s bowl game continue to surge. Through mid-day Thursday, UK season-ticket holders and K-Fund members already had reserved more than 11,000 tickets for the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, AutoZone Liberty Bowl, and Chick-fil-A Bowl ? an increase of 2,000 since yesterday.
Kentucky football season ticket holders and K-Fund members have a deadline of Fri. Dec. 1 at 4:00 p.m. to reserve bowl tickets during the advance priority period. Wildcat fans are encouraged to buy their tickets through UK, which puts the fan in the official team section and also benefits UK by helping meet the minimum sales requirement that the school will have. .
Van Note to Represent UK at SEC Legends: Jeff Van Note will represent the University of Kentucky as one of the Southeastern Conference Football Legends this weekend at the SEC Championship Game. The 12 SEC Legends, one from each league school, will be honored at a dinner on Friday and will be introduced at halftime of Saturday?s game.
Van Note was a defensive end for the Wildcats from 1966-68, earning second-team All-Southeastern Conference honors as a sophomore, and was named the team?s Most Valuable Player as a senior. He participated in the Blue-Gray All-Star Game following his senior season.
Van Note was selected in the 11th round of the 1969 draft by the Atlanta Falcons and was moved to center. He played center for the Falcons from 1969-1986 and was voted by his peers to six Pro Bowls (1974-75, 1979-82), which tied him for the all-time team lead. Van Note holds team records for most seasons played (18), most consecutive games played (155), and is second all-time for most games played (246) and most games started (225) in Falcons history. In October, he was inducted into the team?s Ring of Honor.
Van Note is a member of the UK Athletics Hall of Fame and also spent several years as an analyst on Wildcat football radio broadcasts. He also has been a radio analyst for the Falcons and currently is a member of their radio team as a pregame and postgame host.
Practice Resumes This Weekend; Coaches Recruiting, Players Studying and Working Out: The Kentucky football team will resume practice Saturday and Sunday.
During the week, the coaches are on the recruiting trail. The players are continuing their academic work as they wrap up the semester (exams Dec. 11-15) and are going through strength and conditioning workouts.
Kentucky Football Calendar, Two Practices Open to Media and Public: The Kentucky football practices on Saturday and Sunday will be open to the media and public. Practices will be held at the Nutter Training Facility, although practices could be moved indoors to the Nutter Field House in case of bad weather.
Thurs. Nov. 30 – Strength and conditioning workouts (coaches recruiting)
Fri. Dec. 1 – Strength and conditioning workouts (coaches recruiting)
Sat. Dec. 2 – Practice, 3:15 to 5:05 p.m., Nutter Training Facility, open to media and public
Sun. Dec. 3 – Practice, 1:00 to 2:50 p.m., Nutter Training Facility, open to media and public
