Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media.

Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889.

All selectors choose three teams, while AP and USBWA also list honorable mention selections.

[2] To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors based on a point system computed from the four different all-America teams.

AP Honorable Mention: USBWA Honorable Mention: College Sports Communicators (known before the 2022–23 school year as the College Sports Information Directors of America) announced its 15-member 2023 Academic All-America team on March 14, 2023, divided into first, second and third teams, with Ben Vander Plas of Virginia repeating as men's college basketball Academic All-American of the Year.