Matthew Whitaker, the acting U.S. attorney general, has incorrectly claimed on his résumé and in government documents to have been named an Academic All-American while playing football at the University of Iowa, according to the documents and the organization that awards that honor.

Mr. Whitaker, who was a tight end on the Iowa team from 1990 to 1992, claimed to have been an Academic All-American in his biography on his former law firm’s website and on a résumé sent in 2014 to the chief executive of a now-closed patent-marketing...