Butkus Award
The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, is presented by the Butkus Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports a number of health and wellness activities including the "I Play Clean" anti-steroid program. The award was first established by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, which relinquished control of the award in 2008 following a lawsuit by Butkus.[1]
Butkus Award | |
---|---|
Given for | Given to the best linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football |
Country | United States |
Presented by | Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando (1985–2007) Butkus Foundation (2008–present) |
History | |
First award | 1985 |
Most recent | College: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah Pro: Chandler Jones High School: Prince Kollie |
Website | http://www.thebutkusaward.com/ |
Traditionally, the award was given only to the top collegiate linebacker. The Butkus Award was expanded in 2008 to include high school and professional winners[2] as part of a makeover by the Butkus family to help end anabolic steroid abuse among young athletes. Two players have won both the high school and collegiate Butkus Awards: Notre Dame linebackers Manti Te'o (2008, 2012) and Jaylon Smith (2012, 2015). Three players have won both the collegiate and professional Butkus Awards: former linebacker Patrick Willis (2006, 2009), Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller (2010, 2012), and Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly (2011, 2014, 2015, 2017)
Recipients
Collegiate winners
Professional winners
High school winners
References
- Schmadtke, Alan (April 29, 2008). "Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando relinquishes rights to the Dick Butkus Award". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- Archer, Todd (January 9, 2009). "Dallas Cowboys' Ware wins Butkus Award". Dallasnews.com: the Dallas Morning News website. Belo Corporation. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
- Skrbina, Paul (December 8, 2015). "Notre Dame's Jaylon Smith named Butkus Award winner". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- Potter, Charlie (December 5, 2016). "Alabama LB Reuben Foster named 2016 Butkus Award winner". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- Lentz, Zach (December 8, 2019). "Simmons Wins 2019 Butkus Award". si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- OleMissSports.com: Willis Wins Butkus Award As Collegian And Pro Archived January 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- "Former BC great Kuechly wins second Butkus Award". Fox Sports. May 12, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/khalil-mack-receives-pro-butkus-awardr-2221970.htm
- "Bears OLB Khalil Mack wins pro Butkus Award". Chicago Sun-Times. June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.