Menlo College quarterback sets division, NCAA passing records Menlo College quarterback sets division, NCAA passing records (December 20, 2000)

Menlo College reports that its quarterback Zamir Amin placed No. 1 in total offense nationally for Division III colleges with a season record of 4,246 total yards and an average of 424.6 yards per game.

Amin broke an NCAA record for all divisions by completing passes for 731 yards in a single game -- against Cal Lutheran on October 7. However, Menlo lost the game, 37-32. The previous record of 716 yards in a game was set in 1990 by David Klinger of the University of Houston, a Division I team.

Amin, a 5-10, 200-pound junior, had a passing efficiency of 69.5 percent, completing 318 of 457 passes during the season, including 44 touchdown passes, more than any other quarterback in Division III.

His primary target was Nate Jackson, a wide receiver recently selected as a first-string All American in Division III. Jackson ranked No. 1 in the division in receptions per game with 101, and had season totals of 1,521 yards and 16 touchdowns. Jackson also ranked No. 1 in Division III for receiving yards per game with an average of 152.1.

Menlo College finished the season with a 6-4 record.

Amin was born in Afghanistan, and migrated to Germany and then Northern California. He played for Chabot Community College in Hayward before transferring in his junior year to Menlo College in Atherton, where head football coach and former Dallas Cowboy Doug Cosbie saw his potential.

Menlo College, which specializes in business management with an emphasis in the liberal arts, has a student enrollment of about 500.

"A remarkable 50 percent of all students are involved in some type of intercollegiate athletic programs," says Marty Ummel, vice president of advancement.

Menlo football players have an average grade-point average of over 3.0 and most of them graduate in four years, she says.

"Athletes do not get preferential treatment and Menlo cannot offer athletic scholarships, but some students qualify for merit scholarships, and others work to pay for tuition," says Ms. Ummel. "Students have the advantage of learning at a college that provides small class size, individual attention from faculty, and a nurturing environment."