FB's Ben Kessler to be featured on Fox Sports

August 16, 2005
St. Thomas senior-to-be Ben Kessler, a leader of the Tommies' MIAC runner-up football team last season, will be featured in the August edition of Fox Sports' NCAA On Campus program. The 30-minute, national cable show includes 3-5 college features stories each month.

Kessler's segment will air on this month's NCAA On Campus show, which debuts Tuesday Aug. 16 locally at 3 p.m. on Fox Sports North. The show will replay Aug. 20 (2:30 p.m.), Aug. 26 (1 p.m.); and Aug. 31 (6:30 p.m.).

Kessler is a student in St. John Vianney Seminary and plans to become a Catholic priest. He's one of just three of the 500-plus St. Thomas student-athletes to maintain a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade-point average with a double major in Business and Philosophy. On the field, the 6-foot-2, 250-pound Kessler is a co-captain and all-conference defensive tackle. The Janesville, Wis., native was voted a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2004.

A two-year starter, Kessler had at least one sack in 10 straight games from Oct. 2003-2004. He made second-team all-conference as a sophomore and again as a junior. He helped a Tommie defense last year that allowed just 265 yards per game and ranked third nationally in pass-efficiency defense and fourth in D-III turnover ratio (plus 15).

In 27 career games, Kessler has 118 tackles, 18 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, three fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles and one blocked kick. His service activities include campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Philosophy Club, Catholic Studies Club, Habitat for Humanity and Knights of Columbus. He was the co-chair of charity pancake breakfast the team held at UST last November that raised $1000 for a local foodshelf.