One of the most prestigious conference awards in college athletics, the Big Ten Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had “attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work.” The 14 institutions of the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

feature over 10,000 student-athletes, more than any other conference, and only 28 of those individuals are recognized each year with the Big Ten Medal of Honor. In the nearly 100 years of the Medal of Honor, just over 1,300 student-athletes have earned this distinction. The medal features the Latin phrase ''Mens fervida in corpore lacertoso'' ("a fervent mind in a vigorous body") on one side and the student's name and the phrase ''For Scholarship and Athletic Prowess'' on the reverse side.

History

The award was first given in 1915. It was the first award in intercollegiate athletics to demonstrate support of the educational emphasis placed on athletics and honor those who embody the values of the " student athlete". Although originally awarded only to male athletes, since 1982, a female athlete from each institution has also been recognized.

Notable recipients

The Big Ten Medal of Honor has been awarded to numerous decorated athletes who achieved success after college both in athletics and beyond, including: * NCAA 10-time National Champion Coach John R. Wooden ( Purdue) * NFL quarterbacks and Super Bowl-winners Bob Griese and

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...

(Purdue) * Seven-time

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame

Jerry Lucas Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30, 1940) is an American former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State, and 1960 gold medal Olympian and international player before later starring as a p ...

(

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

) * NFL safety and the first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl

Tony Dungy Anthony Kevin Dungy ( ; born October 6, 1955) is an American former football safety and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. Dungy's teams be ...

(

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

) *

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catcher and three-time

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champion Joe Girardi ( Northwestern) * College Football Hall of Fame member and football coach

Pat Fitzgerald Patrick William Fitzgerald Jr. (born December 2, 1974) is the current head coach of the Northwestern University Wildcats football team. He was selected after the unexpected death of Randy Walker and announced at a press conference on July 7, 2 ...

(Northwestern) * Olympic swimmer and Gold medalist

Davis Tarwater Davis Edward Tarwater (born March 24, 1984) is an American swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. He grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee and began competitive swimming at age seven. During high school, he set three state swimming records and led Webb ...

(

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

) * Former baseball player turned sports agent Casey Close (Michigan) * Pan American Games Gold medalist gymnast Abie Grossfeld (

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

) * Collegiate track and field coach Francis X. Cretzmeyer (

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

) * Professional soccer players Joanna Lohman ( Penn State),

Emily Zurrer Emily Jane Zurrer (born July 12, 1987) is a Canadian soccer player who played for Swedish club Jitex BK in the Damallsvenskan and the Canada women's national soccer team. She previously played for Seattle Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer ...

(Illinois), Vanessa DiBernardo (Illinois), and Britt Eckerstrom (Penn State) *Nine-time letterman and

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

credited with rescuing Badger athletics Pat Richter (

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

) * Businessman Keith Nosbusch, chairman and CEO of

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(Wisconsin) * NASA astronaut Michael S. Hopkins (

)

List of winners

References

{{Reflist Awards established in 1915 Big Ten Conference 1915 establishments in the United States College conference trophies and awards in the United States Student athlete awards in the United States