Kuznia received Big Ten academic award

Olivia native Ben Kuznia was one of six University of Minnesota student-athletes to post a perfect 4.0 grade point average for the 2009-10 academic year and one of 46 to earn a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award recently.

Kuznia, a management and speech communication major, played for the Gophers' football team last season.

The Big Ten recognized 484 student-athletes as recipients of the Distinguished Scholar Award.