Former Nevada football standout Jordan Dobrich was named today as the Mountain West's Male Scholar Athlete of the Year for the 2015-16 season - the first such honor for a Wolf Pack student-athlete in the school's four-year history in the conference.

Dobrich, was a three-year team captain who helped the Wolf Pack to a 7-6 record and win in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl game to cap his senior season last fall. He graduated from the University in May with a 3.83 grade-point average and a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and he will begin studies in Nevada's MBA program this fall.

"It is an incredible honor to be named as the Mountain West's Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. I want to thank the conference and everyone at the University of Nevada for the opportunities I enjoyed as a student-athlete for the Wolf Pack. I am proud to be a Nevada alum and am excited for the next step in my academic career."

Established by the Mountain West Joint Council in 1999, the MW Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award is the highest honor presented to a student-athlete by the conference. The award is bestowed annually to one male and one female who best exemplify the term "student-athlete" by achieving excellence in academics, athletics and community involvement over the course of their collegiate career. In addition to athletic achievement, recipients of the MW Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade-point average, demonstrate leadership, and exhibit good character and conduct on and off the playing field. Each honoree will receive a $2,500 postgraduate scholarship.

"We are incredibly proud of Jordan for receiving this great honor," said Nevada coach Brian Polian. "He represents all that is good about college athletics - he is a terrific person, an exceptional and accomplished student, and a talented athlete. This award is a fitting way to cap his career at the University of Nevada."

In October, Dobrich was inducted to the 2015 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Class and was a finalist for the 2015 William V. Campbell Trophy, the so-called "Academic Heisman." He was the first Nevada player to ever earn the NFF Scholar-Athlete Award and was one of 12 in the country to earn it in 2015.

Dobrich was an Academic All-Mountain West Team member all four years of his collegiate career, 2012-2015, and was a two-time MW Scholar-Athlete. He was involved in Tau Beta Pi, the country's oldest and most prestigious honors engineering fraternity, and as the academic chair of Theta Tau, a professional coed engineering fraternity. Dobrich served as an undergraduate assistant for thermodynamics during the summer of 2015, while interning for Southwest Gas Corporation. Additionally, Dobrich was a member of the National Society of Leadership and a Golden Key Scholar.

Dobrich, from Magnolia, Calif., came to Nevada as a walk-on. He quickly earned a scholarship and played in 49 games during his Nevada career, recording 274 tackles with 3.5 sacks and 11.5 TFLs. He forced three fumbles, recovered two others and recorded two interceptions, including one that he returned for a touchdown.