Short was named First Team All-American, while Bopp was selected as a member of the Honorable Mention All-American team. Short is the first Wabash player to earn First Team honors since 1989 when Mike Funk ’89 was named to the Pizza Hut and Kodak All-America First Teams. Four other Wabash players — James Parker ’77, Pete Metzelaars ’82, Bill Kaiser ’87, and Tim Pliske ’89 — have been named First Team All-Americans.
Short, a 6-5 tight end, led the Little Giants with 73 receptions for 901 yards, the fifth-best single season performance in school history. He tied the school and conference records for touchdown receptions in a season, making 13 TD catches for the second consecutive season. Short was a First Team All-North Coast Athletic Conference selection and a 2001 Football Gazette All-North Region Second Team selection. He tied for 18th in the nation in receptions per game with an average of 7.3. After three seasons at Wabash Short is third on the all-time receiving list with 172 receptions for 2,068 yards, and is second in touchdown receptions with 28. He is the son of Carl Short and Kathy Day.
Bopp, a junior co-captain, was part of a Wabash offensive line that tied the school record for fewest quarterback sacks allowed with seven. Bopp was also a member of the line that set the original record of seven in 1999. This year he helped the Wabash offense set single season school records for touchdowns (55), points scored (386), passing yards (2,982), and total offense (4,629 yards). The Wabash offense also set the school and conference record for passing TDs in a season with 34. The 6-6, 295-pound tackle started all ten games for Wabash this season. He is the son of George and Louise Bopp.
The 24th Annual Hewlett-Packard All-American Football Team was selected by a panel of 30 sports information directors representing the four playoff regions in NCAA Division III football. Voters made first-, second-, and third-team selections with candidates receiving points on a 25-15-10 scale. The ballot included 423 players representing 160 of the 228 NCAA Division III football-playing institutions.
Wabash finished the season with an 8-2 record under first-year head coach Chris Creighton, winning its last seven games.