Sept. 15, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State senior linebacker Ben Kline (Seven Valleys, Pa.) has been selected to the Allstate, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team. He is among the 11 FBS and 22 overall honorees for their contributions to the community. Kline is the third Nittany Lion to earn Allstate AFCA Good Works Team honors, joining Stefen Wisniewski (2010) and Wayne Holmes (1994).
In its 24th year, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® is comprised of athletes who have used their limited free time to perform inspirational acts of service. This summer, the program received an all-time record high 197 nominations from colleges and universities across the country.
College football fans can vote for the 2015 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® Captain at ESPN.com/Allstate through November 25, 2015. The Team Captain and his fellow award recipients will be invited to New Orleans to participate in a community project before the 2016 Allstate® Sugar Bowl®.
Kline has served as the President of Penn State's Uplifting Athletes chapter for the last two years. In 2014, Uplifting Athletes raised a record-breaking $140,000 for Kidney Cancer Awareness and Research at its Lift for Life event. Overall, the group raised a record $155,000 total in 2014. The 2015 Penn State Lift for Life had approximately 2,500 fans in attendance and raised $120,000. Kline was among a contingent of Nittany Lion football student-athletes to visit Washington D.C. for Rare Disease Awareness Day in the winter 2014.
The Seven Valley native has also been involved in THON and Special Olympics during his time at Penn State. He is also the co-founding a student organization this summer that benefits an orphanage in Kenya. The orphanage has an academic partnership with Penn State, and Kline's organization supports that relationship.
Additionally, Kline is a nominee for an American Rhodes Scholarship, the oldest and most celebrated international fellowship awards in the world. Each year 32 young Americans are selected as Rhodes Scholars, through a decentralized process representing the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Kline is also a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District choice and two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. He posted a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2011 summer session and 2013 spring semester. Kline has posted a 3.50 GPA or higher in 11 of his 12 semesters on campus, including summer semesters and is a six-time Dean's List selection. He graduated with his degree in finance in December 2014 with a 3.76 cumulative GPA, in just three and a half years. Has begun work on his master's degree in international affairs. Additionally, Kline is a member of the Lion's Paw Senior Honor Society, a prestigious Student-Leadership Senior Honor Society with 14 members from the 2015 graduating class.
The Nittany Lions open Big Ten play in primetime against Rutgers on Saturday in Beaver Stadium. The game will be the inaugural Penn State Stripe Out. Fans can visit PennStateStripeOut.com to find out if they should wear blue or white for the game. Penn State students are asked to wear white for the student White Out against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights will be playing in Beaver Stadium for the first time since 1994. The contest will air on BTN, the Penn State Sports Network (6:30 p.m. airtime) and GoPSUsports.com.
Partial season and single game tickets for the 2015 campaign are on sale. To purchase tickets or for information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing new 2015 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visitPSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 10 a.m-6 p.m.
About the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®
The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® was established in 1992 by the College Football Association, recognizing the extra efforts made by college football players and student support staff off the field. AFCA became the governing body of the award in 1997 and continues to honor college football players who go the extra mile for those in need. Allstate worked to present the award starting with the 2008 season.
The SEC leads all conferences with 65 selections to the Good Works Team since it began in 1992. The SEC is followed by the Big 12 Conference with 47 selections and the Atlantic Coast Conference with 32 selections. Georgia is in first place with 16 honorees to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. ® The Bulldogs are followed by Nebraska with 14 honorees. Super Bowl XLII, XLVI and XLI champion quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning were members of the 2002 and 1997 Good Works Teams®, respectively.
The following players have been selected to the 2015 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®:
NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (I-A)
Jonathan Wallace, Auburn University
Trent Matthews, Colorado State University
Kelby Brown, Duke University
Malcolm Mitchell, University of Georgia
Landon Foster, University of Kentucky
Deon Bush, University of Miami (Fla.)
Myer Krah, United States Naval Academy
Joshua Perry, Ohio State University
Ben Kline, Penn State University
James Conner, University of Pittsburgh
Driphus Jackson, Rice University
NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (I-AA), Divisions II, III and NAIA
Billy Baker, Aurora University
Matt Mehlhorn, Bethel (Minn.) University
Jacob Wassenaar, Central (Iowa) College
Seth Hiddink, University of Central Oklahoma
Vincent Beltrano, University of Chicago
Lucas Romick, Denison University
Liam Nadler, Gannon University
Dalton Screws, Jacksonville State University
David Porter, John Carroll University
Dayo Idowu, University of North Dakota
Nick Chiocco, Stonehill College