The Today's Top 10 Award is given each year by the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to honor ten former outstanding senior
student-athletes.
The award was previously known by three different names, each reflecting the number of recipients:
* Today's Top V Award or the Top Five Award (1973–1985)
* Today's Top VI Award (1986–1994)
* Today's Top VIII Award (1995–2013)
Below is a list of the recipients of the Today's Top 10 Award given each year by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) since its inception in 1973. The names of these exceptional individuals are engraved in the Hall of Honor at the
NCAA Hall of Champions
The NCAA Hall of Champions is an interactive museum and part of a three-building complex that houses a conference center and the corporate headquarters of both the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Federation of State Hi ...
on the NCAA Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. Recognition in the NCAA Hall of Honor ensures these athletes are remembered. They have reached the pinnacle of national athletic and academic success through their accomplishments. As of 2020, there are more than 480,000 NCAA student-athletes annually. This award recognizes the nation's best former student-athletes from every NCAA sport and division. Each year, the recipients are honored at the NCAA Convention.
Winter/spring sports considered include
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
, women's
beach volleyball,
fencing
Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...
,
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
,
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...
,
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...
,
lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensi ...
,
rifle,
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically at ...
,
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ...
,
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
,
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
and
diving
Diving most often refers to:
* Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water
* Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes
Diving or Dive may also refer to:
Sports
* Dive (American football), ...
,
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...
, indoor and outdoor
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
, men's
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
, women's
water polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with t ...
and
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
. Fall sports considered include
cross country
Cross country or cross-country may refer to:
Places
* Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland
* Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY
* Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...
,
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shootin ...
,
football,
soccer, women's indoor
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
and men's
water polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with t ...
.
List of recipients
This is a list of the recipients of the Today's Top 10 Award given each year by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) since its inception in 1973. The names of these exceptional individuals are engraved in the Hall of Honor at the
NCAA Hall of Champions
The NCAA Hall of Champions is an interactive museum and part of a three-building complex that houses a conference center and the corporate headquarters of both the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Federation of State Hi ...
on the NCAA Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. Recognition in the NCAA Hall of Honor ensures these athletes are remembered. They have reached the pinnacle of national athletic and academic success through their accomplishments. As of 2020, there are more than 480,000 NCAA student-athletes annually. This award recognizes the nation's best former student-athletes from every NCAA sport and division. Each year, the recipients are honored at the NCAA Convention.
2021 recipients
2020 recipients
2019 recipients
2018 recipients
2017 recipients
2016 recipients
2015 recipients
2014 recipients
Recipients
Recipients of the Top 10 Award include many notable athletes in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
and include
John Elway
John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American professional football executive and former quarterback who is the president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL).
Elway played college f ...
,
Steve Young
Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccan ...
,
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Col ...
,
Eli Manning
Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the youngest son o ...
,
Doug Flutie
Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former football quarterback whose professional career spanned 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (C ...
,
Tiki Barber
Atiim Kiambu "Tiki" Barber (; born April 7, 1975) is an American former football running back who played for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for the University of Virginia. ...
,
Cheryl Miller
Cheryl D. Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA games on TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked previously as a sportscaster ...
,
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 ...
,
Kendall Coyne
Kendall Coyne Schofield (born May 25, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey player who is currently a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. With the national team, she has won six gold medals at the IIHF World Wome ...
and
Elena Delle Donne
Elena Delle Donne (born September 5, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Delle Donne played college basketball for the Delaware Blue Hens from 200 ...
.
See also
*
List of recipients of Today's Top 10 Award
This is a list of the recipients of the Today's Top 10 Award given each year by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) since its inception in 1973. The names of these exceptional individuals are engraved in the Hall of Honor at the ...
*
Senior CLASS Award
The Senior CLASS Award is awarded to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 NCAA Division I sports. An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete ...
(top student-athletes—in 10 sports—based on community, classroom, character, and competition)
*
NCAA Sportsmanship Award The NCAA Sportsmanship Award is given to men and women in National Collegiate Athletics Association sports who have demonstrated one or more of the ideals of sportsmanship, including fairness, civility, honesty, respect and responsibility. It was ...
(student-athletes who have demonstrated one or more of the ideals of sportsmanship)
*
NCAA Woman of the Year Award The NCAA Woman of the Year Award was created to honor senior female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. Each year, ...
(senior female student-athlete)
*
Walter Byers Scholarship
The Walter Byers Scholar (also known as Walter Byers Scholarship, and Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship) program is a scholarship program that recognizes the top male and female student-athlete in NCAA sports and that is awarded annually by t ...
(NCAA) (top male and female scholar-athletes)
*
Silver Anniversary Awards
The Silver Anniversary Awards are awarded every year by the American National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to recognize six distinguished former student-athletes on their 25th anniversary as college graduates. The Silver Anniversary Aw ...
(former student-athletes)
References
External links
Today's Top 10 Award— NCAA website
{{Student athlete
NCAA awards
College sports trophies and awards in the United States
Student athlete awards in the United States
Awards established in 1973