Coaches and media of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

award the following individual honors at the end of each

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

season. In addition, the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' awards the

Chicago Tribune Silver Football The ''Chicago Tribune'' Silver Football is awarded by the ''Chicago Tribune'' to the college football player determined to be the best player from the Big Ten Conference. The award has been presented annually since 1924, when Red Grange of Ill ...

to the most valuable football player of the conference.

General

Player of the Year

''Sanctioned by

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

(AP) and

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

(UPI); replaced with separate offensive and defensive selections in 1990.''

Graham–George Offensive Player of the Year

''Selected by coaches and media. In 2011, the award was renamed the Graham–George Offensive Player of the Year Award in honor of Northwestern's

Otto Graham Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League ...

and Ohio State's

Eddie George Edward Nathan George Jr. (born September 24, 1973) is an American college American football, football coach and former running back who is the head football coach at Bowling Green Falcons football, Bowling Green State University. He previously ...

.''

Nagurski–Woodson Defensive Player of the Year

''Selected by coaches and media. In 2011, the award was renamed the Nagurski–Woodson Award in honor of Minnesota's

Bronko Nagurski Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski (November 3, 1908 – January 7, 1990) was a Canadian-American professional football player who was a fullback and defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). Renowned for his strength and size, Nagurski ...

and Michigan's

Charles Woodson Charles Cameron Woodson (born October 7, 1976) is an American former professional football player who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers. He spent his first 14 seasons as ...

.''

Thompson–Randle El Freshman of the Year

''Selected by coaches and media. In 2011, the award was renamed the Thompson–Randle El Freshman of the Year Award in honor of Minnesota's

Darrell Thompson Darrell Alexander Thompson (born November 23, 1967) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back for five seasons with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college ...

and Indiana's

Antwaan Randle El Antwaan Randle El (; born August 17, 1979) is an American professional American football, football coach and former player who currently serves as the wide receivers coach and assistant head coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football L ...

.''

Dave McClain / Hayes–Schembechler Coach of the Year

''From 1986 through 2010, this award was dedicated in honor of Dave McClain, who served as the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

head coach from 1978 to 1985. Recipients were selected by the media. The coaches selected a separate award from 1982 to 1991. When the coaches resumed selecting a coach of the year in 2011, it was named for the first two recipients of the Big Ten Coach of the year,

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American college football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the Univers ...

and

Woody Hayes Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes (February 14, 1913 – March 12, 1987) was an American college football coach and player. He served as the head football coach at Denison University from 1946 to 1948, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio from 1949 to 195 ...

, as the Hayes–Schembechler coach of the year.''

Ford–Kinnick Leadership Award

''The award is named in honor of Michigan's

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

and Iowa's

Nile Kinnick Nile Clarke Kinnick Jr. (July 9, 1918 – June 2, 1943) was an American naval aviator, law student, and college football player for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He won the 1939 Heisman Trophy and was a consensus All-American. He died during a training ...

.''

Dungy–Thompson Humanitarian Award

''The award is named in honor of Minnesota's

Tony Dungy Anthony Kevin Dungy ( ; born October 6, 1955) is an American former professional 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 ...

and Indiana's Anthony Thompson.''

All-Big Ten

Offensive

Griese–Brees Quarterback of the Year

''Award started in 2011, named in honor of Purdue's

Bob Griese Robert Allen Griese ( ; born February 3, 1945) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He earned All-American hono ...

and

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former professional 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 is sec ...

.''

Ameche–Dayne Running Back of the Year

''Award started in 2011, named in honor of Wisconsin's

Alan Ameche Alan Ameche (; June 1, 1933 – August 8, 1988), nicknamed "the Iron Horse", or simply "the Horse", was an American professional football player who was a fullback for six seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League (NFL). ...

and Ron Dayne.''

Richter–Howard Receiver of the Year

''Award began in 2011 and is named in honor of Wisconsin's Pat Richter and Michigan's

Desmond Howard Desmond Kevin Howard (born May 15, 1970) is an American former professional football wide receiver and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, wi ...

.''

Kwalick–Clark Tight End of the Year

''Award began in 2011 and is named in honor of Penn State's

Ted Kwalick Thaddeus John Kwalick (born April 15, 1947) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) and World Football League (WFL). He played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1969 to 1974 and ...

and Iowa's

Dallas Clark Dallas Dean Clark (born June 12, 1979) is an American former professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unq ...

.''

Rimington–Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year

''Selected by Big Ten radio broadcasters until 1991; selected by coaches since. In 2011, the award was renamed the Rimington–Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year Award, in honor of Nebraska's Dave Rimington and Ohio State's

Orlando Pace Orlando Lamar Pace (born November 4, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the St. Louis Rams. Pace played college football fo ...

.''

Defensive

Smith–Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year

''Selected by Big Ten radio broadcasters until 1991; selected by coaches since. In 2011, the award was renamed the Smith–Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year Award in honor of Michigan State's

Bubba Smith Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith (February 28, 1945 – August 3, 2011) was an American professional football defensive end and actor. Smith played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts, Oakland Raiders, and Houston Oilers. ...

and Penn State's Courtney Brown.''

Butkus–Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year

''Award started in 2011, named in honor of Illinois'

Dick Butkus Richard Marvin Butkus (December 9, 1942 – October 5, 2023) was an American professional football linebacker, sports commentator, and actor. He played football for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1965 to 1973. He w ...

and Northwestern's

Pat Fitzgerald Patrick William Fitzgerald Jr. (born December 2, 1974) is an American former football player and coach. He served as the head football coach of the Northwestern Wildcats from July 2006 until he was fired in July 2023 in the aftermath of a hazi ...

.''

Tatum–Woodson Defensive Back of the Year

''Award started in 2011, named in honor of Ohio State's

Jack Tatum John David Tatum (November 18, 1948 – July 27, 2010) was an American professional American football, football Safety (gridiron football position), safety who played 10 seasons from 1971 through 1980 with the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Oi ...

and Purdue's

Rod Woodson Roderick Kevin Woodson (born March 10, 1965) is an American former professional football player for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Widely considered one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time, Woodson holds the NFL record fo ...

.''

Special teams

Bakken–Andersen Kicker of the Year

''Named in honor of Wisconsin's Jim Bakken and Michigan State's

Morten Andersen Morten Andersen (born 19 August 1960), nicknamed "the Great Dane", is a Danish-American former professional football kicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 25 seasons, most notably with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta F ...

.''

Eddleman–Fields Punter of the Year

''Named in honor of Illinois' Dwight Eddleman and Michigan State's Brandon Fields.''

Rodgers–Dwight Return Specialist of the Year

''Named in honor of Nebraska's

Johnny Rodgers Johnny Steven Rodgers (born July 5, 1951) is an American former professional football player. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and won the Heisman Trophy in 1972. Rodgers played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) w ...

and Iowa's Tim Dwight.''

Notes and references

{{College football award navbox College football conference awards and honors Individual Honors