Travis Dorsch (born September 4, 1979 in San Diego, California) is a PhD student in sport psychology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Dorsch is a former American football placekicker and punter of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. After retiring from football in 2006, Dorsch has focused his competitive energies on the sport of triathlon. Dorsch is one of the top ranked clydesdale triathletes in central Indiana, and recently finished Ironman Cozumel (November 29, 2009) in 10:55:24.

[edit] Early years

Dorsch attended Bozeman High School in Bozeman, Montana and was a letterman in Football, Basketball, and Track & Field for the Hawks. He also Played four years of American Legion baseball for the Bozeman Bucks as a starting first baseman and pitcher. He holds many state records including the longest field goal in state history (fourth-longest in the national high school annals) at 63 yards.

[edit] College career

Dorsch attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he played both football and baseball and became the first Big Ten athlete to be named first team all-conference as both a punter and a placekicker. While playing for the Boilermakers (1998-2001), Dorsch set many records including career scoring (355 points), Career field goals (69), and career punting average (48.4). He was named a first-team All-American placekicker and a consensus All-American punter and won the Ray Guy Award for the nation's outstanding punter as a senior in 2001. He is also the only athlete in Purdue history to have kicked a field goal and thrown a touchdown in football and hit a home run and recorded a win as a pitcher in baseball.

[edit] Professional career

As a football player, Dorsch was drafted in the 4th round (111th overall pick) in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. Dorsch was a member of the 2004 Green Bay Packers playoff roster and was a practice squad member with the Minnesota Vikings in 2004. He spent 2005 and 2006 competing in the now defunct NFL Europe as a punter for the Rhein Fire in Dusseldorf, Germany.

As a writer, Dorsch has published two scholarly articles: (1) Dorsch, T.E., Smith, A.L., & McDonough, M.H. (2009) "Parents' perceptions of child-to-parent socialization in organized youth sport", and (2) Witt, J.K. & Dorsch, T.E. (2009) "Kicking to bigger uprights: Field goal kicking performance influences perceived size"

[edit] External links

• Purdue Boilermakers bio