Bronx, N.Y. (August 1, 2014) – Fordham University senior placekicker Michael Marando has been placed on the Fred Mitchell Award Watch List it was announced on Wednesday. He is looking to become the second Ram to win the award, joining Patrick Murray who received it in 2012.
 
The Watch List for the Fred Mitchell Award includes 36 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, III, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) collegiate place-kickers that were nominated by their colleges for excellence on the football field and in the community.
 
Marando, a preseason All-America and All-Patriot League selection, came into his own in 2013, connecting on 16 of 20 field goal attempts and 55 of 56 PATs. He booted three field goals in a game twice, including a career-long 47-yarder in the win at Temple, a game in which he provided Fordham's margin of victory with a PAT with less than ten seconds left in the game. Marando's 55 PATs was a new school record, breaking the former mark of 47 set by Micah Clukey in 2003, and his 16 field goals made last year was the third highest total in Fordham history. He led the Patriot League and was 12^th in the NCAA FCS in field goals/game (1.3) and he was second in the league and 18^th in the NCAA in scoring (8.6 points/game).
 
The Award's Selection Committee Chairman Chris Kearney said, "These place-kickers are impressive on the football field and off the field representing their schools, their football teams, their conferences, their communities, their families and themselves.  We look forward to following their accomplishments during the next few months.  Of the 36 kickers, 21 led their team in scoring last season and 12 finished second on their team in scoring so there is a lot of scoring power returning this season."  The Watch List includes place-kickers from more than 750 eligible colleges.  Fred Mitchell said, "It is a pleasure to include these fine young men on the Watch List for this Award, which is celebrating its sixth year in 2014.  We are delighted to recognize them based on outstanding performance in the community and expectations going into the 2014 college football season.  It is also a thrill to see so many familiar names on the Watch List, including 13 nominees and two place-kickers that were among the top ten for the Award last season."
 
The breakdown of the 36 place-kickers is as follows:
Collegiate Division – 7 FCS, 12 Division II, 12 Division III, 3 NAIA and 2 NJCAA
State – the place-kickers play at schools located in 24 different states
Year – 16 Seniors, 11 Juniors, 9 Sophomores
 
The annual Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award (also known as the Fred Mitchell Award) is provided to the nation's top collegiate place-kicker among more than 750 FCS, Division II, III, NAIA and NJCAA football teams. The Award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting place-kicker, Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Famer, author, philanthropist and Chicago Tribune sports columnist. The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be chosen based on excellence on the football field and in the community. The Award's Watch List is released in August, top performers are recognized monthly during the college football season, and the winner (who is not required to be on the Watch List) is announced in mid-December. The school of the Award winner receives scholarship funds and the Fred Mitchell Award trophy will be presented each February at the National Football Foundation Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony at Halas Hall.