Campbellsville University Athletics

For just the fourth time in program history, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has named a Campbellsville University football student-athlete a First Team All-American.

Campbellsville, Ky. native Bradley Bates earned First Team All-American honors as the top place kicker in the NAIA. In addition, Lexington, Ky. native Tyus Alcorn earned AFCA/NAIA Second-Team honors.  

The First-Team honor is the first since Calvin Bini earned the award as a defensive back in 2010. Greg Fountain (2008) and Demetrius Forney (2001) were the other First-Team All-Americans. The Second-Team honor is the second-straight for CU, as Jacob Russell earned the feat last season. Before that, the Tigers last Second-Team All-American was Forney in 2000.

The awards keep piling up for Bates who was also named Second-Team All-Conference and Second-Team NCCAA All-American.

Bates eclipsed Donnie Johnson's single-season record with 85 points on the season and made 14 fields goals this season to tie Johnson's mark set in 2003. In addition, Bates made 43 PATs – the second-most in a single-season.

"Having Bradley and Tyus named to the NAIA All-American Teams is a blessing for them and our program," said coach Perry Thomas. "To have two guys earn All-American honors off of a team that finished with a 2-8 record speaks of the respect that coaches in NAIA have for our program and also the type of year these two had.

"Bradley has worked tirelessly year around to develop into an All-American kicker. He spends countless hours in the weight room throughout the off season, on the field improving his strength and improving his technique. That work has paid off for him."

Alcorn, who is arguably one of the best receivers to come through the program, also racked up the awards in 2016. He earned Mid-South Conference West Division Co-Offensive Player of the Year and was named an NCCAA First-Team All-American.

He finished the season with 1,095 receiving yards and 109.5 receiving yards per game, which led the Mid-South Conference in both categories. He now joins Shane Riley, Trevon Chatman and Jarrod Harrington as the only 1,000-yard receivers in program history.
 
Alcorn also led the Mid-South with 6.6 receptions per game this season. At the NAIA level, Alcorn ranked fifth in receiving yards, sixth in receiving yards per game and receptions per game.
 
Highlighting his senior season, Alcorn hauled in 235 yards vs. Union College to break the single-game record, which was previously set by Shane Riley with 172 (2002).
 
Over the previous three seasons, Alcorn totaled 36 receiving touchdowns – breaking the career record which was previously set by Demytreus Gipson (2011-2014) with 29. He also holds the single-season mark of 19 touchdowns set in 2015.
 
"It's hard to imagine anyone out there much better than Tyus," said Thomas. "He is as good as you get in the wide receiver spot. We have been blessed to have some good ones and he is one of the very best. He has bounced back from major shoulder surgery and ACL surgery to have an outstanding college career and is well deserving of his All-American recognition. We have been blessed to have some First and Second Team All-Americans during my tenure here and these two are as deserving as any of them."

Campbellsville finished the 2016 with a 2-8 record and 0-5 inside the Mid-South Conference. The Fighting Tigers are scheduled to host University of Pikeville to kickoff the 2017 season at home on Thursday, Aug. 24.