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| Delaware's Dan Mulhern named first team All-East |
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10:55 a.m., Dec. 16, 2002--University of Delaware senior linebacker Dan Mulhern has been named to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) All-East Division I-AA team for the second straight year.
Mulhern, a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive player in NCAA Division I-AA football, was one of 35 student-athletes honored in a vote of ECAC head coaches. The ECAC includes student-athletes who compete in the Atlantic 10 Football Conference, Ivy League, Patriot League, Northeast Conference and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, as well as independent institutions.
Mulhern, who earned first team All-Atlantic 10 honors last month, was honored as a first team selection by the ECAC for the second straight season.
A 6-foot 3-inch, 225 pound senior captain from Strath-Haven High School in Wallingford, Pa., Mulhern was a fourth-year starter at linebacker for Delaware in 2002 and led the team to a 6-6 record under first-year Head Coach K.C. Keeler.
Mulhern led the team and ranked third in the Atlantic 10 with 126 tackles (10.5 per game) while also posting 13.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He intercepted two passes, one of which he returned 56 yards for a touchdown against West Chester. He posted 10 or more tackles six times with a season-high 15 stops against New Hampshire. He was named Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week three times.
Mulhern never missed a game and started the final 42 contests of his career, posting 418 tackles to rank fourth all-time in Delaware history. He posted 10.5 sacks and intercepted nine passes, the most ever by a Blue Hen linebacker. He is one of only five players in UD history to record 100 or more tackles in two different seasons.
Villanova senior quarterback Brett Gordon, who was named the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year and led the Wildcats to the NCAA Division I-AA semifinals, was named Player of the Year while Massachusetts running back R.J. Cobbs, the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, was selected as the ECAC Rookie of the Year. Gordon is also a finalist for the Walter Payton Award as the top player in NCAA Division I-AA football.
Of the 35 student-athletes honored, 14 were from Atlantic 10 schools, nine represented the Patriot League, eight were from Ivy League schools, three were from the Northeast Conference and two from the MAAC.
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