The ESPY Award for Best College Athlete, Men's Sports, known before 2021 as the Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award, is an annual award honoring the achievements of a male individual from the world of

collegiate sports College athletics encompasses non-professional, collegiate and university-level competitive sports and games. World University Games The first World University Games were held in 1923. There were originally called the ''Union Nationale des ...

. It was first presented as part of the

ESPY Award An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...

s in 2002, following the subsumption of the Best College Football Player and

Best Male College Basketball Player ESPY Award The Best Male College Basketball Player ESPY Award was presented annually between 1993 and 2001 to the male collegiate basketball player adjudged to be the best in the United States in a given calendar year. The award was subsumed in 2002 by the ...

s, each of which had been presented annually between 1993 and 2001, inclusive. The award trophy, designed by sculptor

Lawrence Nowlan Lawrence Joseph Nowlan Jr. (January 11, 1965 – July 30, 2013) was an American sculptor and figurative artist known for his statues of notable individuals, including Harry Kalas and Jackie Gleason. Nowlan also designed memorials, including the f ...

, is awarded to the sportsman adjudged to be the best in a given calendar year of those contesting collegiate sport in the United States through the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA). From 2004 until its subsumption with the

Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award The ESPY Award for Best College Athlete, Women's Sports, known before 2021 as the Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award, is an annual award honoring the achievements of a female individual from the world of collegiate sports. It was first prese ...

to create the

Best College Athlete ESPY Award Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

for the 2018 ceremony, and again since the award was reestablished in 2021, the winner has been chosen by online voting through choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee. Before that, determination of the winners was made by an panel of experts. Through the

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

iteration of the ESPY Awards, ceremonies were conducted in February of each year to honor achievements over the previous calendar year; awards presented thereafter are conferred in July and reflect performance from the June previous. The inaugural winner of the Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award in 2002 was Iowa State Cyclones wrestler

Cael Sanderson Cael Norman Sanderson ( ; born June 20, 1979) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler who is the current head coach of Penn State University's wrestling team. As a wrestler, he won an Olympic Gold medal and was undefeated in four ...

who ended his collegiate career that year. In that period, he surpassed numerous NCAA records, clinched four NCAA wrestling championships, and went 159–0 undefeated in his final season.

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

quarterback Tim Tebow received the trophy in 2008, and won it again the following year, becoming the only sportsman in the history of the award to have won it more than once. American footballers have been the most successful at the awards with nine victories and 14 nominations, closely followed by basketball players who have been recognized on seven occasions, and were nominated a further 19 times. The most recent winner of the award, and second under its current name, is

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

quarterback

Bryce Young Bryce Christopher Young (born July 25, 2001) is an American football quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He holds the record for most passing yards in a single game by an Alabama quarterback (559) and was the recipient of the 2021 Heisma ...

. Beginning in 2021, the awards were again separated into men's and women's versions using the current naming scheme.

Winners

Statistics

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links