Nov. 29, 2007

MEMPHIS, TENN. - University of Memphis safety Brandon Patterson was selected to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America second team as announced by the national organization Thursday.

Patterson is the third Memphis Tiger athlete to earn Academic All-America honors this month as senior forward Jared Britcher was selected to the third team for men's soccer and junior defender Kate Murphy was a first team selection for women's soccer. Murphy is the first U of M female to ever be named to the first team and only the second person in Memphis' history since Pat Jansen earned recognition for football in 1992.

A junior from Germantown, Tenn., Patterson was placed on the national ballot after earning first-team honors for District 4 earlier this month. He was a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-District pick and was named to the C-USA Football All-Academic Team in 2006. He holds a 3.7 grade point average and is working towards his master's degree in business administration.

Patterson has started all 12 games at safety and is second on the squad with 71 tackles. He leads the Tigers in interceptions with three and registered a 33-yard return against Jacksonville State. His three picks this season brings his career total to eight interceptions. Against UAB, he totaled five tackles and picked off a pass in the endzone on UAB's final drive in Memphis' first win over the Blazers in eight games. This season, Patterson has registered five or more tackles in eight games.

The Tigers return to action on Dec. 21 in the 2007 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at the Louisiana Superdome and the game will be carried by ESPN2. Tickets are on sale by calling the Tiger Ticket Office at 901-678-2331.