MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — With two degrees in hand and one final season in a Mountaineer uniform about to begin, WVU senior safety Sean Mahone has earned a major academic honor. Mahone has been named to the Academic All-America second-team presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Mahone posted a 3.6 grade point average, while earning his bachelor’s degree in management information systems. He finished his master’s of business administration degree this May, posting a 3.69 GPA.
“My parents always said that football doesn’t last forever. You have to do well in school because you want to have a good career. When I got older, getting into college is when I picked it up and was really pushing myself. Even though the two degrees were challenging, I knew that once I got it done I would feel good about myself and what I accomplished. I am glad I was able to get the two degrees,” Mahone said on Monday’s Citynet Statewide Sportsline.
“What I got from the MBA is connections. Meeting new people and establishing connections is going to carry over into later on in life.”
.@Sean32Mahone joins @TonyCaridi, @BradHowe07, and @HunterWvu88bgn to discuss being named to the CoSIDA’s Prestigious Academic All-America Football Team. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/cnvGt5dGqp
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) July 12, 2021
Mahone is the 29th Mountaineer to earn this honor and first since Moorefield native Reed Williams won the award in 2009. To be considered for the award, nominees must have a GPA of 3.3 or above and be a starter or important reserve.
On the field, Mahone earned second team All-Big 12 honors in 2020, He has collected 143 tackles in 42 career games.
“I think our team is making a big improvement for the season coming up. I am excited because we have young players that are learning and keep improving.”
Mahone is taking advantage of an additional season of eligibility created by the pandemic. He is entering his sixth season in the WVU program.
“I was thankful they were able to grant everybody another year of football. As far as being old, age is just a number. I have been here a long time, since 2016. It feels like I have been here about twenty years. I have always had fun here and had a lot of good experiences with getting my undergrad and then getting my masters. That’s a huge accomplishment. I just wanted to make my parents proud and I know they are happy for me.”