Michael Bercovici

Classroom

Bercovici needed just three years to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management in May 2014 and is currently enrolled in the Master’s of Sports Law and Business program. He earned a 3.25 cumulative GPA during his undergraduate studies and has been a Scholar Baller, an honor given to a student-athlete who achieves a GPA of 3.0 or above, in 10 different semesters. He currently has upward of a 3.80 GPA in his graduate studies. Bercovici has completed half of the required credits in his master’s program, and is on track to earn his graduate degree in May 2016. The program combines classes from the prestigious Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law and the W.P. Carey School of Business, and features a number of high-profile professors, including Arizona State University Vice President of University Athletics Ray Anderson and Caleb Jay, Senior Director of Legal Affairs and Associate General Counsel for the Arizona Diamondbacks, among others. He secured a 3.25 cumulative undergraduate GPA and is a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree (honorable mention honors in 2013 and 2014). The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law has been ranked No. 26 among the nation’s leading law schools, including No. 9 among public law schools in the United States. The W.P. Carey School of Business ranks among the top 30 in the nation in undergraduate business degrees. His relevant coursework includes negotiations; strategic management; microeconomics and macroeconomic; fundamentals of finance; accounting; and statistics.

Character

A team captain and a member of the team’s Leadership Council for the fourth consecutive season as well as the newly created Influence Team, Bercovici is heavily involved in a number of community service initiatives and projects. On campus, he is a five-year member of ASU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and has been an advocate for the Championship Life Program created by ASU. He helped put together a presentation with Jean Boyd and Drew Rosenhaus that is designed to help young student-athletes make the most of their time in school and ensure they set themselves up for a positive future. He has been instrumental in influencing his teammates and other student-athletes to become more involved in the community and routinely leads a contingent of student-athletes in community service and outreach events. Bercovici has served as an ambassador the football program and Arizona State University on numerous occasions. He was a pace setter for kids’ portion of Pat’s Run, an annual race on ASU’s campus that honors the legacy and life of former Sun Devil linebacker Pat Tillman. He recently went to Los Angeles for the annual Pac-12 Football Media Day and represented Arizona State at Super Bowl Media Day and at an Arizona Diamondbacks game. In addition, he has spoken on behalf of the Sun Devil Club at multiple events and personally inducted one of the school’s top donors, Steve Butterfield, into the Gold Club at an event attended by ASU President Dr. Michael Crow.

Community

Bercovici has dedicated more than 50 hours of community service at various kid’s camps and youth clinics throughout his career and has dedicated another 50-plus hours in a number of visits during his five years at ASU, including multiple trips to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the Carson Children’s Hospital in Mesa. He has visited Sunshine Acres Children’s Home, and multiple elementary and middle schools across the state, from Mesa to Gilbert to Phoenix. He traveled back to his elementary school in Calabasas, Calif., and spoke about the importance of attending college and earning a degree. Bercovici is heavily involved in the Scholar Baller leadership and outreach program through which he helps develop curriculum, deliver, teach and mentor students at South Mountain High School, Academy of Excellence and Cesar Chavez High School. This program helps young people develop championship character, strong sense of self-esteem and tips to becoming a great leader. In addition, he worked with the Gilbert Ducks, a local Pop Warner team, on the importance of leadership and the “Sun Devil Way.”

Head Coach Todd Graham:
“Mike is service-minded, first and foremost. And that means serving both his teammates and his community. Not only is he our starting quarterback and unquestioned leader, but he’s also one of our top students and always the first one to volunteer to represent our program and our university at any number of events and community service projects. Our players vote for our team captains, and Mike was a unanimous choice.”

Competition

Bercovici set an NCAA record with 998 passing yards through his first two career starts and led the Sun Devils to wins over USC and Stanford. He became the first player in history to throw for five touchdowns against USC, and his 510 total passing yards in the game were the second-highest total against the Trojans in USC history. He made his first career start at UCLA and set school records for completions and attempts as he went 42-of-68 for 488 yards with three touchdowns. His 488 yards in the game were the most by a Sun Devil quarterback making his first career start and the fifth highest total for any ASU quarterback in program history. He is on a number of preseason watch lists this summer, including 2015 Senior Bowl Watch List, 2015 Wuerffel Trophy Watch List and the 2015 Maxwell Award Watch List (National Player of the Year). He started three games in 2014 and finished the season with 1,445 yards and 12 touchdowns. He posted a 62 percent completion rate and a 144 passing efficiency rating. Bercovici also played a vital role over the past two seasons on special teams as he was the team’s holder on field goals and extra points for kicker Zane Gonzales, who has been a Groza Award semifinalist in each of the past two seasons and had 37 career field goals, which is tied for the second most in the nation over the past two seasons.