All-America facts for kids

This article is about All American (disambiguation)|All American. For other uses, see All-America (disambiguation).

The All-America award is a special honor given each year to amazing athletes in the United States. These athletes are considered among the very best in their sport. When an athlete gets this award, they are usually named to an All-America team. Some sports even have first, second, or third All-America teams.

All-America teams are made up of top amateur athletes from the U.S. If an athlete is very good but doesn't quite make the team, they might get an "honorable mention." This award is mostly for college athletes. However, since 1957, high school football players also started getting All-American status. This honor then spread to other sports like basketball and cross-country running. The rules for choosing All-Americans are different for each sport. Athletes who make these teams are called All-Americans.

What Does All-America Mean?

Athletes earn All-America honors in a few ways. They might achieve something great at a championship event. Or, they could be chosen by sports reporters, coaches' groups, or through a public vote. The term "All-American" is mainly used for college and sometimes high school players in the United States.

Being chosen for an All-America team is mostly an honorary award. These "All-America teams" usually do not play games together, unlike many all-star teams.

The idea of "All-America" first started with college football players. It was a list of the best players in each position. The very first All-America team was picked in 1889. It was chosen by Caspar Whitney and Walter Camp.

In sports like triathlons, USA Triathlon gives All-America status to the top 10% of athletes in their age group.

The term "All-America" is also used to celebrate student-athletes who do well in school. These are called "Academic All-America" teams. The "Academic All-America" name is a special trademark of the College Sports Information Directors of America. This program started in 1952. It honors college athletes at all levels and in all sports for their academic success.

All-America in College Sports

Each year, different groups choose All-American teams. Sometimes, a player is called a "unanimous selection." This means they are on the first team of all the recognized lists. A "consensus All-American" is a player on the first team of at least half of the recognized lists. All-America teams are chosen every year in many college sports.

Archery All-Americans

In college archery, the US Collegiate Archery (USCA) association picks All-Americans. Honors are given for Olympic Recurve, Compound Target, and Bowhunter divisions. The top 10 archers in each division get All-American honors. This is based on their scores from national indoor and intercollegiate championships.

Baseball All-Americans

In college baseball, All-America teams are chosen every year. The American Baseball Coaches Association and Collegiate Baseball make these selections.

Basketball All-Americans

In Division I men's basketball, the National Collegiate Athletic Association recognizes "consensus" All-America teams. This is based on a points system. It uses teams chosen by the Associated Press (AP), the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Sporting News, and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Many other groups also pick their own All-America teams.

For Division I women's basketball, the NCAA has recognized "unanimous" first-team selections since 1995. These are based on choices from the AP, USBWA, and Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

Cross Country Running All-Americans

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) handles these selections. In Division I, the top 40 runners at the national meet are named to the All-America team. In Division III, since 2017, the top 40 finishers also get All-American status. The athlete's team must be a member of the USTFCCCA.

Fencing All-Americans

Based on the NCAA Fencing Championships, the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association picks athletes each year. They choose for All-American first team, second team, third team, and honorable mention.

Football All-Americans

The National Collegiate Athletic Association currently recognizes College Football All-America Teams. These are chosen by the Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News, and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF). These lists help decide "consensus All-Americans."

Golf All-Americans

All-American honors for men's golf are given by the GCAA.

Gymnastics All-Americans

In NCAA men's gymnastics, the top 8 finishers at the national championship get All-American status.

Ice Hockey All-Americans

The American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) chooses All-Americans for Division I and Division III. This includes both men and women. For Division I men, they pick first and second teams for East and West. For Division I women, they pick national first and second teams. Division III also has East and West teams for men and women.

Lacrosse All-Americans

The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) picks men's lacrosse All-Americans every year. They are divided into first team, second team, third team, and honorable mention.

The Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) also picks women's lacrosse All-Americans each year. These are also first, second, third team, and honorable mention.

US Lacrosse, which is the main group for men's and women's lacrosse, chooses national boys' and girls' high school All-Americans every year.

Rowing All-Americans

The American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) and Collegiate Rowing Coaches of America (CRCA) name All-American teams. ACRA is for men, and CRCA is for women.

Sailing All-Americans

The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) chooses All-American teams every year. This happens at the end of each full racing season. The chosen sailors are then added to the ICSA Hall of Fame.

Soccer All-Americans

In soccer, United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) names an eleven-member All-America team each year. They also pick teams for Division I women, and Division II and III teams.

Swimming and Diving All-Americans

In NCAA swimming and diving, athletes and relay teams who make the championship final (top eight) are First-Team All-Americans. Those who make the consolation final (places 9–16) are Honorable Mention All-Americans. The College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) selects these teams.

Tennis All-Americans

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association picks men's and women's D-1 players each year. For singles, players must be a top 16 seed, reach the round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Championships, or finish in the top 20 of the final ITA Rankings. For doubles, they must be a top eight seed, reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Doubles Championship, or finish in the top 10 of final ITA Rankings.

Track and Field All-Americans

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association manages these selections. The rules are different for NCAA Division I compared to NCAA Division II, Division III, NJCAA, and NAIA. For all groups, the top eight finishers in each individual event get First-Team All-America. Division I athletes placed ninth through sixteenth get Second-Team. Relays are only judged on a top-eight basis. These rules apply to both indoor and outdoor competitions. The athlete's team must be a member of the USTFCCCA. Relay members must run in the finals to earn All-America status.

Volleyball All-Americans

The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) chooses five NCAA All-America teams. For women's volleyball, they pick teams for all three NCAA divisions. For men's volleyball, teams are chosen in the National Collegiate division (which includes Division I and II) and in Division III. The AVCA also picks teams for the NAIA, USCAA, and NCCAA.

Wrestling All-Americans

In all NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, NCWA, and CCCAA divisions, the top 6 or 8 placers at the national championship tournament are considered All-Americans.

All-America in High School Sports

At the high school level, some well-known All-America teams are chosen. Parade magazine picked teams in football, and from 1957 to 2015, in basketball. In baseball, the ABCA/Rawlings High School All-America Baseball Team has been chosen every year since 1969.

In basketball, the McDonald's restaurant chain picks players each year for its McDonald's All-American Game. There is also the Ballislife All-American Game. In football, there is the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and the Under Armour All-America Game. Since 2000, the United States Army has sponsored its own yearly All-American high school football event, the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. This event includes an All-American football team, split East and West, and an All-American marching band.

In 2005, Offense-Defense Sports started listing the top 100 high school football athletes. The Offense-Defense All-American Bowl happens every January. It features the 88 top-ranked high school seniors.

Athletes who finish in the top 15 of each gender group at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships get All-American honors. These are a series of cross country running races held in different parts of the U.S.

The National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association publishes an Academic All America Awards list. This is for graduating seniors who have a GPA of at least 3.750. They must also have earned a letter in their high school swimming, diving, or water polo programs.

The National High School Coaches Association also honors the nation's top student athletes each year. They are called "High School Academic All-Americans."

In 2020, High School Football America began publishing an annual Academic All-America Team. This team honors thousands of student-athletes from across the nation.