2024 Fred Mitchell Watchlist
La Crosse, Wis. - University of Wisconsin-La Crosse junior placekicker
Michael Stack of
Oshkosh (West) has been named to the 2024 Fred Mitchell Award Watchlist, presented to the top placekicker for excellence on the football field and community service throughout the year.
Stack is one of 40 placekickers on the watchlist, including one of 10 from National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. The Fred Mitchell Award is provided to the nation's top collegiate placekicker among more than 750 Football Championship Subdivision, NCAA Division II and III, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) teams. Landon Reeves of Ottawa Univesity of Arizona earned the 2023 award. Nominations are based on regular-season statistics only.
Michael Stack was named to the
2023 D3football.com and AP All-America Teams.
The recipient of the award will be announced in December. The award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting place-kicker, Wittengberg University (Ohio) Athletic Hall of Fame, author, philanthropist and Chicago Tribune sports columnist.
Stack, named to the 2024 D3football.com Preseason All-America First Team, was one of 10 finalists for the 2023 Fred Mitchell Award. Voted to the 2023 D3football.com All-America and Associated Press (AP) All-America First Teams, Stack went 13-of-15 in field goal attempts and 65-of-65 in extra-points during the season. He tied the single-season school record of 13 field goals by
Chris Schumacher in 1989.
Stack converted his first career field goal attempt in UWL's 31-6 victory at Dakota State University (S.D.) on August 31, converting a 24-yard field goal in the first quarter. He had four different games with at least two field goals made.
Stack's 65 extra-points broke
Ryan Beirne's single-season record of 49 in 2021. Stack was voted the 2023 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Co-Special Teams Player of the Year and selected the WIAC Special Teams Player of the Week four times while earning all-league first team honors. He converted the game-winning 51-yard field goal on the final play in UWL's 37-34 victory at third-ranked UW-Whitewater on October 7, tying a school record.
He led the WIAC in kick scoring while ranking fourth overall in overall scoring (104 points).
UWL opens its 2024 season Rensselear Polytechnic Institute (N.Y.) on Thursday, September 5.
