Joe Dineen Jr., named 2018 Senior CLASS Award candidate
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas linebacker Joe Dineen Jr., was one of 30 NCAA® Football Bowl Subdivision student-athletes selected Wednesday as candidates for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate football. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I FBS senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Dineen, who currently leads the Big 12 Conference in both total tackles (13.3 pg) and solo tackles (9.3 pg), was a Sports Illustrated Second Team All-American and an All-Big 12 First Team honoree in 2017. He was recently named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week and the Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week after helping lead the Jayhawks to a 31-7 win at Central Michigan.
The Lawrence, Kansas native earned his bachelor’s degree in management and leadership with an entrepreneurship concentration in May 2018. Dineen is a two-time Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honoree, an Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team award winner and he also earned Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and KU Athletics Director’s Honor Roll four times during his KU career.
Dineen is one of just three players in Kansas’ 128 years of football to be voted a team captain three times. He has been named a team captain in each of the last three seasons and has also been selected to represent the Jayhawks at Big 12 Media Days in each of those same three seasons.
On top of all of his athletic and academic achievements, Dineen has been very active in numerous community service initiatives across the Lawrence community, including our elementary school reading program, children’s football clinics, Special Olympics football clinics and feeding the homeless with JustFood, but he really found his passion raising funds and awareness for childhood cancer research. He has been involved in numerous events and activities related to raising awareness for childhood cancer awareness in and around Lawrence and Kansas City.
Dineen has also been tabbed by the Bednarik Award Watch List for the national defensive player of the year in addition to being Kansas’ nominee for the AFCA Good Works Team (community service) and Wuerffel Trophy (community service).
To determine the final Senior CLASS Award winner, the 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. Along with the winner, the 10 finalists will be awarded Senior CLASS Award first- or second-team honors.
The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the football bowl season in early January. For more information on the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
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