TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Three members of the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology football team earned academic all-district honors as part of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American process, in results released Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Junior tight end Ben Hopf (Huntingburg/ Jasper) joined graduate student wide receiver Thomas Reives (Indianapolis/ Arsenal Tech) as a first-team academic all-district selection.  Junior Kyle Stevens (Santa Cruz, Calif./Harbor) captured second-team honors.

Hopf and Reives will advance to the national ballot at their respective positions, with the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Team set for release on Tuesday November 24.

Hopf ranks third on the Engineers with 26 receptions for 282 yards and three touchdowns despite returning to football for the first time since high school this fall.  He had a career-high six catches with two touchdowns vs. North Park.

Thomas Reives - first-team academic all-district

The electrical engineering major gained a career-high 63 yards against North Park.  Hopf hauled in five catches for 52 yards against Defiance and contributed four catches for 33 yards in a win over Hanover.

Reives looks to become the first Rose-Hulman student-athlete to earn four career Academic All-American awards in this year's football contest.

Reives has previously been named first-team Academic All-American in track and field, while capturing second-team honors in both football and track.

The mechanical engineering undergraduate student has returned to Rose-Hulman in the engineering management master's degree program after spending the past year at Eli Lilly and Company.

On the season, Reives ranks second on the team with 30 receptions for 601 yards and three touchdowns.  He ranks eighth in school history 1,387 receiving yards, including 64 receptions and eight touchdowns.  His career average yards per catch of 21.7 is the school record by nearly three yards per effort.

Stevens ranks second on the Engineers with 60 tackles and has crossed the 200-tackle mark in his career with 206.

Kyle Stevens -- second-team academic all-district

The mechanical engineering major earned second-team academic all-district accolades last season and leads the team in interceptions for the second year in a row.

Stevens has hauled in eight career interceptions, including three in 2009.  His career totals include 206 tackles, 19 pass breakups, eight interceptions and 10.5 tackles-for-loss.