WASHINGTON - The College Sports Communicators announced its 2026 Academic All-District® Men's and Women's At-Large Teams and Gallaudet University sophomores
Zachary Bippus (Fishers, Ind.) and
Kodi Lee (Lehi, Utah) from men's volleyball landed on the Division III team.
This is first CSC Academic All-District® honor for Bippus and Lee, two starters on the men's volleyball team at Gallaudet University, the world's only university with programs and services specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students. Lee, a information technology major, has a 3.93 grade point average while Bippus, a business administration major, has a 3.65 grade point average.
The GU duo are part of 34 representatives from a United East Conference program on the 2026 Academic All-District® Men's and Women's At-Large Teams. St. Mary's College of Maryland led the way with 10 honorees that represent three different sports. There were nine different United East programs represented as honorees played on field hockey, men's golf, men's and women's lacrosse and men's volleyball.
Bippus and Lee are the first GU men's volleyball student-athletes to earn CSC Academic All-District® honors. The Bison athletic department has 23 Academic All-America® honors in its history. GU has only had one student-athlete earn CSC Academic All-America® honors on an At-Large Team and that was
Katie Giles in 2014 when she represented GU women's swimming on the second team nationally for Division III.
The at-large category features student-athletes from 23 different NCAA sports including; women's beach volleyball, women's bowling, women's crew/rowing, 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 volleyball, men's and women's water polo and men's and women's wrestling.
Outstanding student-athletes are nominated for Academic All-District® recognition by current dues-paying CSC members and must meet high academic and athletic standards. Eligible nominees will receive Academic All-District® recognition.
The title Academic All-American is reserved for student-athletes who perform at an elite level in their sport and in the classroom.
To be eligible for College Sports Communicators Academic honors, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at their current institution and be nominated by their athletic communicator/sports information director. Student-athletes must compete in 90 percent of the institution's games/contests played or must start in at least 66 percent of the games/contests/matches.
The Academic All-America® men's at-large teams will be announced on Wednesday, July 8.
GALLAUDET'S COLLEGE SPORTS COMMUNICATORS ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT® AT-LARGE HONOREES
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About College Sports Communicators Academic All-America® Program
College Sports Communicators (CSC) began the distinguished Academic All-America® program in 1952, and since then, has honored more than 40,000 deserving student-athletes from numerous sports across all divisions with these elite Academic All-America® scholar-athlete honors. Currently, CSC honors Academic All-Americans in 16 sports.
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA governance structure.
For more information visit
AcademicAllAmerica.com.
