Big East Conference football awards

The Big East Conference gives five football awards at the conclusion of every season. The awards were first given in 1991 following the conference's first football season. The five awards include Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Special Teams Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year. Recipients are selected by the votes of the conference's eight head coaches.^[1]

Award recipients having included Heisman Trophy winners, NFL first-round draft picks, and NFL All-Star selections. The Miami Hurricanes have been the most successful team through the school's tenure with the conference from 1991 to 2004, winning six awards for offensive players, seven for defense, four for special teams, three for Rookie of the Year, and six for Coach of the Year. Every current and past conference member has been represented at least once. Temple's Dan Klecko won the defensive award in 2002, prior to their departure from the Big East. They are the only school without multiple recipients.

Donovan McNabb of Syracuse is the only player to win three awards, as Offensive Player of the Year in 1996, 1997, and 1998. Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech, Dennis Erickson of Miami, and Brian Kelly were each Coach of the Year three times.

Offensive Player of the Year

The Offensive Player of the Year is awarded to the player voted most-outstanding at an offensive position. The first two awards were given to quarterback Gino Torretta of the University of Miami. In 1992, Torretta was a unanimous selection, the only player to receive that distinction as of 2009. There have been three ties: in 1996, 2001, and 2002, and a three-way tie in 2001. Besides Torretta, quarterbacks Ken Dorsey of Miami and Pat White of West Virginia have both been awarded twice; Dorsey's awards in 2001 and 2002 were both ties. Donovan McNabb was selected three times and became the second overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft.^[2] Miami has received the most awards, six before leaving the conference in 2004. Of the current members, only Cincinnati and South Florida, who both joined in 2005, have no offensive winners.

Of the 23 winners, there have been 14 quarterbacks, six running backs, three wide receivers, and one tight end. Eight seniors, six juniors, eight sophomores, and two freshman have been awarded as of 2009.^[1]

Winners

Winners by school

Defensive Player of the Year

The Defensive Player of the Year award has been given 20 times, with ties in 1991 and 2001. Of the 22 winners, 14 have been defensive lineman. Five linebackers and three safeties have also been awarded. 14 of the recipients have been seniors, seven juniors, and George Selvie the only sophomore.^[1]

The first award in 1991 was a tie between Darrin Smith, a Miami linebacker, and George Rooks, a defensive lineman from Syracuse. Miami then won three consecutive awards between 1992 and 1994. Corey Moore is the only player to have won the award twice, in 1998 and 1999.^[1]

Like Offensive Player of the Year, Miami has won the most defensive awards as well, with seven. Pittsburgh follows with the second most awards with five, including the 2009 Co-Defensive Players of the Year, which is the only occasion where two teammates have been co-selected in the same season. Temple, a member from 1991 to 2004, won its only conference award with Dan Klecko in 2002.^[3] Of the original 1991 members, Pittsburgh took the longest to win the defensive award, first winning with H.B. Blades in 2006. Pittsburgh won again with another linebacker, Scott McKillop, in 2008.^[1]

Winners

Winners by school

Special Teams Player of the Year

The Special Teams Player of the Year award is given to the player voted best on special teams. The recipient can either be a placekicker, punter, returner, or a position known as a gunner. The first winner was Kevin Williams, a returner from Miami. Andy Lee, a Pittsburgh punter, and Cincinnati kick returner Mardy Gilyard are the only players to receive the award more than once.^[4]

There have been 21 recipients, with ties in 2002 and 2003. Of the award recipients there have been, ten seniors, nine juniors, and two sophomores. Three placekickers have won the award, most recently Virginia Tech's Shayne Graham in 1999. Todd Sauerbrun was the first punter to win after he was a unanimous selection in 1994.

Winners

Winners by school

Rookie of the Year

The Rookie of the Year award is given to the conference's best freshman. Tom Tumulty from Pittsburgh was the first winner. Michael Vick, Dion Lewis, and Larry Fitzgerald both also won Offensive Player of the Year, with Vick and Lewis doing so in the same season.^[1]

Winners

Winners by school

Coach of the Year

Dennis Erickson won the first two awards in 1991 and 1992 after 12–0 and 11–0 seasons, respectively.^[1][5] Erickson, Brian Kelly, and Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech each won the award three times. Larry Coker, Rich Rodriguez, and Walt Harris have each won twice.^[1] Cincinnati and Miami have had the most coaches of the year with three. Terry Shea of Rutgers is the only winner after a losing season,^[6] while Walt Harris was 6–6 in 1997.^[7]

Winners

Winners by school

Footnotes

• ^a Miami left the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) after 2004.^[17]
• ^b Virginia Tech left for the ACC after 2004.^[17]
• ^c Boston College left for the ACC after 2005.^[17]
• ^d Temple left for the Mid-American Conference in after 2004.
• ^e Michael Vick and Dion Lewis were selected as both Rookie of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in the same season, 1999 and 2009, respectively.

References