University of Massachusets Athletics
Two Football Players Named To Associated Press All-America Team
December 15, 2000 | Football
Dec. 15, 2000
AMHERST, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts football players Kole Ayi (Nashua, N.H.) and Marcel Shipp (Paterson, N.J.) have been named to the 2000 Associated Press Division I-AA All-America team. Ayi earned second team honors, while Shipp was selected to the third team. This marks the third straight AP All America selection for Shipp, who was also a third team pick in both 1998 and 1999, and the second year Ayi has been named to the squad, after earning third team honors in 1999.
Ayi, a senior linebacker, finished fifth in the voting for the 2000 Buck Buchanan Award, received the George H. "Bulger" Lowe Award as the top defensive player in New England, and was selected first team All-Atlantic 10 Conference and All-New England. He led the team and ranked fourth in the Atlantic 10 with 123 total tackles on the season, including 76 solo stops (good for second in the conference). Ayi also totaled six sacks, 14 tackles for loss and one interception. He ended his UMass career as the school's all-time leader in career solo tackles with 330, while ranking third in total tackles with 478.
Shipp, a senior tailback, was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, in addition to being named first team All Atlantic 10 and All-New England. He rushed for 1,106 yards on 257 carries and 12 touchdowns this season, while also catching 23 passes for 230 yards. Shipp broke the Atlantic 10 career rushing record of New Hampshire's Jerry Azumah' (6,193 yards) with his career total of 6,250 yards. Shipp ended his career with a UMass record 63 touchdowns, while he also placed sixth on the all-time NCAA Division I-AA career rushing list with his 5,383 regular season yards. He became the first player in school-history to break the 1,000-yard mark in both rushing and receiving with 1,117 career receiving yards.
UMass finished the 2000 season with a 7-4 overall record, and placed third in the Atlantic 10 with a 5-3 mark in conference games.
