Florida's Tebow Named SEC Male Athlete of the Year
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 | Football
University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow (Jacksonville, Fla.) was honored Tuesday as he was named the recipient of the 2008-09 Roy F. Kramer Southeastern Conference Male Athlete of the Year as voted on by the league's athletics directors, Commissioner Mike Slive announced.
This is the second time Tebow has been named the SEC Male Athlete of the Year, as he received the honor in 2007-08. He joins Alistair Craig (Arkansas, cross country/track), Danny Wuerffel (Florida, football) and Shaquille O'Neal (LSU, basketball) as the only student-athletes to win the award back-to-back.
Tebow is the third Gator to receive the honor, joining Wuerffel (1996 and 1997) and Ryan Lochte (swimming, 2005). Georgia's Courtney Kupets (gymnastics) took home the SEC Female Athlete of the Year award.
"The SEC is very proud to honor Tim and Courtney, as they are outstanding examples of what a student-athlete can accomplish, both athletically and educationally,” said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. “Their hard work and dedication to excellence have made them fine representatives of their universities and this conference. We congratulate them and wish them the best in their future endeavors.”
In his junior campaign, Tebow led the Gators to a 13-1 record and their second BCS Championship in three years. He was honored with the Maxwell Award in 2007 and 2008, becoming only the second player to earn the award in consecutive years. The Jacksonville, Fla. native was also honored with the Manning Award, and was a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award and a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.
The Heisman Trophy winner in 2007 set a school-record with 230 passing attempts without an interception, the third-longest streak in the SEC. He also became the first UF football player to be named a first-team Academic All-American selection in over a decade in 2007 and was a repeat recipient in 2008.
The other male nominees were: Andre Smith, Alabama (football); Blake Strode, Arkansas (tennis); : Matt Targett, Auburn (swimming); Knowshon Moreno, Georgia (football); Bruno Agostinelli, Kentucky (tennis); Louis Coleman, LSU (baseball); Michael Oher, Ole Miss (football); Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State (basketball); Devan Downey, South Carolina (basketball); John Patrick Smith, Tennessee (tennis); D.J. Moore, Vanderbilt (football).
The SEC Athletes of the Year Awards were first presented in 1976 for men and 1984 for women. The award was renamed the Roy F. Kramer Athletes of the Year in 2004 to honor the former commissioner who served the conference from 1990-2002.
Past recipients of the SEC Athlete of the Year Award include: 2008 – Tim Tebow, Florida (football) and Candace Parker, Tennessee (basketball); 2007 - David Price, Vanderbilt (baseball) and Monica Abbott, Tennessee (softball); 2006 - Xavier Carter, LSU (track & field) and Seimone Augustus, LSU (basketball); 2005 - Ryan Lochte, Florida (swimming) and Kirsty Coventry, Auburn (swimming); 2004 - Alistair Cragg, Arkansas (cross country/track) and Jeana Rice, Alabama (gymnastics); 2003 - Alistair Cragg, Arkansas (cross country/track) and LaToya Thomas, Mississippi State (basketball); 2002 - Walter Lewis, LSU (track & field) and Andree' Pickens, Alabama (gymnastics); 2001 - Matias Boeker, Georgia (tennis) and Amy Yoder Begley, Arkansas (cross country/track); 2000 - Kip Bouknight , South Carolina (baseball) and Kristy Kowal, Georgia (swimming); 1999 - Tim Couch, Kentucky (football) and Chamique Holdsclaw, Tennessee (basketball); 1998 - Peyton Manning, Tennessee (football) and Chamique Holdsclaw, Tennessee (basketball); 1997 - Danny Wuerffel, Florida (football) and Trinity Johnson, South Carolina (softball); 1996 - Danny Wuerffel, Florida (football) and Saudia Roundtree, Georgia (basketball); 1995 - Todd Helton, Tennessee (baseball) and Jenny Hansen, Kentucky (gymnastics); 1994 - Corliss Williamson, Arkansas (basketball) and Nicole Haislett, Florida (swimming); 1993 - Jamal Mashburn, Kentucky (basketball) and Nicole Haislett, Florida (swimming); 1992 - Shaquille O'Neal, LSU (basketball) and Vicki Goetze, Georgia (golf); 1991 - Shaquille O'Neal, LSU (basketball) and Daedra Charles, Tennessee (basketball); 1990 - Alec Kessler, Georgia (basketball) and Dee Foster, Alabama (gymnastics); 1989 - Derrick Thomas, Alabama (football) and Bridgette Gordon, Tennessee (basketball); 1988 - Will Perdue, Vanderbilt (basketball) and Dara Torres, Florida (swimming); 1987 - Cornelius Bennett, Alabama (football) and Lillie Leatherwood-King, Alabama (track and field); 1986 - Bo Jackson, Auburn (football) and Jennifer Gillom, Ole Miss (basketball); 1985 - Will Clark, Mississippi State (baseball) and Penney Hauschild, Alabama (gymnastics); 1984 - Terry Hoage, Georgia (football) and Tracy Caulkins, Florida (swimming); 1983 - Herschel Walker, Georgia (football/track and field); 1982 - Buck Belue, Georgia (football/baseball); 1981 - Rowdy Gaines, Auburn (swimming); 1980 - Kyle Macy, Kentucky (basketball); 1979 - Reggie King, Alabama (basketball); 1978 - Jack Givens, Kentucky (basketball); 1977 - Larry Seivers, Tennessee (football); and 1976 - Harvey Glance, Auburn (track and field).
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