WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ- Monmouth University senior Mike Basile (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) has been named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation's First Team All-America.

The senior safety becomes the first player in the 25-year history of the program to earn a spot on the prestigious Walter Camp All-American team. The FCS ADA 2017 Defensive Back of the Year led the NCAA with 7.58 solo tackles per game en route to finishing sixth in the Buck Buchanan Award voting.

He led the Hawks in tackles in all 12 games from his safety position, finishing with 125 tackles including 91 solo stops. Basile became Monmouth's only four-time first team all-league selection and earned Big South Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors. He set the Big South and school record for solo tackles while setting the Monmouth mark for career tackles (433). In 2017 he added three sacks, an interception, two blocked kicks and five passes defended to his career totals.

Basile has recently been named First Team All-America by the Associated Press in addition to first team honors by Phil Steele, STATS Inc and a second team nod from the AFCA.

About the Walter Camp Football Foundation

Walter Camp, "The Father of American football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team. 

Monmouth Football recently announced its 2018 schedule and 12 new Hawks that signed on Wednesday's early signing period.