CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Colgate University senior tight end John Frieser (Endwell, N.Y.) was selected by the Patriot League sports information directors as the 2003 PL Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He is the first Raider to win the PL Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in the 18-year history of PL football.

He is a sociology and anthropology major with a 3.69 cumulative grade point average.

Frieser was previously named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America first team, the Division I-AA Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star team and was one of two Division I-AA players awarded a National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame post-graduate scholarship. He is one of eight finalists for the Division I-AA Athletic Directors Association Academic Player of the Year award.

He was a three-year starter and 2003 tri-captain for the Raiders, who won 21-straight games over the past two seasons and advanced to the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA Championship game before finishing the season with a 15-1 overall record. The Raiders captured the PL title with a 7-0 League record, the team's second-straight championship.

Frieser was the third-leading receiver on the team this season with 29 catches for 392 yards and four touchdowns, which were all career-high totals. In four seasons with CU, Frieser caught 68 passes for 999 yards and nine TDs and earned All-League recognition three-straight seasons, including first-team honors in 2001 and 2002.

To be nominated for the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore starter or significant reserve on his team with a 3.20 cumulative grade point average.