Recognizing A Century Of Excellence On And Off The Field

(Family Features) The Big Ten, the nation’s oldest collegiate conference, is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor by highlighting its 2014 class of honorees. Twenty-four student-athletes from 17 different sports received the honor, the first established award in intercollegiate athletics to demonstrate support for the educational emphasis placed on athletics.

Awarded to one male and one female student-athlete from each Big Ten graduating class, the Big Ten Medal of Honor pre-dates many of the biggest national awards that focus entirely on athletics, including the Heisman Trophy and Naismith Award.

It really encompasses all the things that you bring to the table in terms of athletics and academics. It’s always nice to be able to be remembered in a sense that’s greater than numbers and stats, said 1999 Purdue recipient, Stephanie White, on receiving the award. There are so many things that being a student-athlete taught me. It really transcends the sport and prepares you for the real world.

Since 1915, the Big Ten Medal of Honor has been awarded to more than 1,300 honorees. These individuals have translated their experiences as student-athletes into success in all walks of life and include: Jennifer Hsia (Indiana, 2001), an assistant professor and otolaryngologist (ENT) at University of Minnesota and Mike Hopkins (Illinois, 1992), a flight engineer for the International Space Station. Other honorees feature legendary sports figures such as Drew Brees (Purdue, 2001), NFL quarterback who led the New Orleans Saints to their first championship in franchise history, and Katie Smith (Ohio State, 1996), the all-time leading scorer in women’s professional basketball.

This year’s distinguished group also represents the best that the student-athlete model has to offer. They include Academic All-America and All-Big Ten honorees, individual award winners and NCAA and Big Ten team and individual champions. All 24 of the recipients have been named Academic All-Big Ten at least once in their career. This class of honorees is pursuing careers in diverse fields including pre-med, sociology, computer engineering, political science, finance and management, biosystems engineering and many others.

To learn more about the Big Ten Medal of Honor, visit bigten.org.

2014 Big Ten Medal of Honor Winners:Illinois:

Vanessa DiBernardo, Women’s Soccer

Nathan Scheelhaase, Football

Indiana:

Meghan Lappan, Water Polo

Ryan LeBlanc, Wrestling

Iowa:

Marike Stribos, Field Hockey

James Morris, Football

Michigan:

Jillian Smith, Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field

John Wojciechowski, Men’s Swimming and Diving

Michigan State:

Kristen Henn, Field Hockey

Greg Wolfe, Men’s Ice Hockey

Minnesota:

Sara Moulton, Softball

Derek Toomey, Men’s Swimming and Diving

Nebraska:

Emily Wong, Women’s Gymnastics

Seth Wiedel, Men’s Track and Field

Northwestern:

Marisa Bast, Softball

Raleigh Smith, Men’s Tennis

Ohio State:

Allison Elber, Women’s Rowing

Aaron Craft, Men’s Basketball

Penn State:

Emily Giannotti, Women’s Track and Field

Adrian Evans, Men’s Gymnastics

Purdue:

Casey Matthews, Women’s Swimming and Diving

Matt Friede, Men’s Swimming and Diving

Wisconsin:

Mary Massei, Softball

Reed Connor, Men’s Track and Field

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The Big Ten Conference opened the Big Ten Experience to the public on June 7. The interactive digital museum located at the conference’s headquarters in Rosemont, Ill., brings the conference’s storied academic and athletic history to life and places it at fans’ fingertips. The Big Ten Experience features a collection of 13 interactive exhibits, including a Big Ten Medal of Honor display, showcasing conference notables dating back to 1896, the year the conference was founded.