Leibfarth, Mach, Murphy named to academic football squad

Ryan Mach, Matt Murphy and Frank Leibfarth of the 20th-ranked South Dakota Football Team have been selected to the 2006 Academic All-North Central Conference Football Team by vote of the league's sports information directors Nov. 6.

Nine student-athletes were named to the academic squad for the second straight year, including USD's Matt Murphy, a senior defensive lineman from Rapid City. Mach, a senior offensive tackle from Prague, NE, and Leibfarth, a junior from Yankton. Murphy and Leibfarth were among the four student-athletes with grade point averages over 3.90. Both Murphy and Leibfarth were named to the NCC Commissioners Academic Honor Roll in 2005.

Murphy has recorded 12 tackles, including 10 solo stops, four tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks. He is a key contributor on the league's top-ranked defense.

Last spring, Leibfarth became just the seventh USD student ever to be awarded the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship.

Mach is a business management major with a 3.257 grade point average. A starter in 10 games for USD this season, Mach is one of the leaders on the USD offense, which leads the league a variety of offensive categories.