The Bowerman is an annual track and field award that is the highest accolade given to the year's best

student-athlete Student athlete (or student–athlete) is a term used principally in universities in the United States and Canada to describe students enrolled at postsecondary educational institutions, principally colleges and universities, but also at sec ...

in American

collegiate Collegiate may refer to: * College * Webster's Dictionary, a dictionary with editions referred to as a "Collegiate" * ''Collegiate'' (1926 film), 1926 American silent film directed by Del Andrews * ''Collegiate'' (1936 film), 1936 American musi ...

track and field. It is named after Oregon track and field and cross country coach

Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic Games, Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 2 ...

and is administered by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The winners of the award are announced in a mid-December ceremony held in conjunction with the

USTFCCCA The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a New Orleans–based non-profit professional association representing men's and women's cross country and track & field coaches in the United States. The organization incl ...

annual convention. Starting in January, The Bowerman Watch Committees regularly publish Watch Lists consisting of the top-10 athletes at the time of release. 7 Watch Lists are issued, followed by, in June, the release of the 10 semifinalists for each gender. Shortly after, the Bowerman Advisory Board meets to select three male and three female finalists, and The Bowerman Voters receive their ballots. Finalists and winners are selected by an advisory board, consisting of NCAA administrators, national and regional media personnel, and track & field statisticians. The Board is currently chaired by Herman Frazier, an Olympic medalist and longtime athletic director and administrator at the Division I level. As of December 2024, 23 winners of the award have won a combined 22

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

and 60 World Athletics Championship medals. 21 non-winning finalists of the award have won a combined 25 Olympic and 54 World Athletics Championship medals. Past winners include

Julien Alfred Julien Alfred (born 10 June 2001) is a Saint Lucian Sprint (running), sprinter. She won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metres, 100 metres event, setting a new List of Saint ...

, the first medalist in Saint Lucian history, 2021 Olympic 800 meter Champion Athing Mu, and 2024 Olympic Medalist

Sha'Carri Richardson Sha'Carri Richardson ( ; born March 25, 2000) is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. Richardson rose to fame in 2019 as a freshman at Louisiana State University, running 10.75 seconds to break th ...

. Past finalists include pole vault World Record holder and 2024 Olympic Pole Vault Champion Mondo Duplantis, triple jump American Record holder Christian Taylor, and 400 meter hurdle World Record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Leverone. The Bowerman trophy was designed by

Tinker Hatfield Tinker Linn Hatfield Jr. (born April 30, 1952) is an American designer of numerous Nike athletic shoe models, including the Air Jordan 3 through Air Jordan 15, the twentieth-anniversary Air Jordan XX, the Air Jordan XXIII, the 2010 (XXV), the ...

, a Bowerman-coached pole vaulter at the University of Oregon. Hatfield, who spent extensive time working for Nike, designed the 35-pound, 20 inch tall trophy, which is made out of a block of aluminum and plated with gold.

List of recipients

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowerman Sport of athletics awards College sports trophies and awards in the United States Most valuable player awards Awards established in 2009 NCAA track and field