This Past Week In The Big Ten

By Big Ten

This past week in the Big Ten

Tickets for the 2017 Big Ten Football Championship Game will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, July 29 at Noon ET. The seventh annual Big Ten Football Championship Game will be played on Saturday, December 2 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The contest will be broadcast nationally on FOX with kickoff set for 8 p.m. ET.  Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000. Tickets will range from $50 to $95 depending on the seat location and each order will be limited to eight tickets. In addition, every Big Ten Football Championship Game ticket includes complimentary admission to the Big Ten Fan Fest presented by Dr. Pepper, to be held at the Indiana Convention Center on Friday and Saturday, December 1-2.

Seven Big Ten students appear on the 2017 preseason watch list for the Walter Camp Player of the Year award (presented annually to the nation’s best college football player), according to Friday’s announcement by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Michigan’s Rashan Gary, Northwestern’s Justin Jackson, Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett, Tyquan Lewis and Billy Price, and Penn State’s Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley are the conference standouts who earned mention on the Walter Camp Player of the Year preseason watch list.

No fewer than 10 Big Ten students have earned a place on the 2017 preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award (given annually to the country’s top running back), as announced Thursday by the SMU Athletic Forum. Illinois’ Kendrick Foster, Iowa’s Akrum Wadley, Maryland’s Ty Johnson, Michigan State’s LJ Scott, Minnesota’s Rodney Smith, Northwestern’s Justin Jackson, Ohio State’s Mike Weber, Penn State’s Saquon Barkley, and Wisconsin’s Chris James and Bradrick Shaw are the Big Ten standouts appearing on this year’s Doak Walker Award preseason watch list.

Representatives from eight Big Ten schools appear on the 2017 preseason watch lists for the Davey O’Brien Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (both given annually to the nation’s top quarterback), as well as the Dodd Trophy (presented each season to the country’s top college football coach), according to Wednesday’s releases by the Davey O’Brien Foundation, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Foundation, the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Michigan’s Wilton Speight, Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett and Penn State’s Trace McSorley earned mention on this year’s Davey O’Brien Award preseason watch list. Speight, Barrett and McSorley were also among seven conference students named to the 2017 Johnny Unites Golden Arm Award preseason watch list. The other Big Ten students selected were Indiana’s Richard Lagow, Nebraska’s Tanner Lee, Northwestern’s Clayton Thorson and Purdue’s David Blough.

Ten Big Ten standouts are earning mention on this year’s preseason watch lists for the Biletnikoff Award (presented annually to the nation’s top receiver) and the Wuerffel Trophy (given each year to the college football student who best combines exemplary community service with academic and athletic achievement), following releases on Tuesday morning by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation and the All Sports Association in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Indiana’s Nick Westbrook represents the Big Ten on the 2017 Biletnikoff Award preseason watch list, while nine students appear on this year’s Wuerffel Trophy preseason watch list, including Indiana’s Rashard Fant, Iowa’s Josey Jewell, Maryland’s Adam Greene, Minnesota’s Ryan Santoso, Nebraska’s Drew Brown, Northwestern’s Justin Jackson, Ohio State’s Tracy Sprinkle, Penn State’s Trace McSorley and Purdue’s David Blough.

Fourteen Big Ten students are appearing on the 2017 preseason watch lists for the Butkus Award (given annually to the nation’s top linebacker) and the Paul Hornung Award (presented each year to the country’s most versatile college football player), according to Monday’s announcements by the Butkus Foundation and Louisville Sports Commission, respectively. Nine Big Ten students have been named to this year’s Butkus Award preseason watch list, while five are part on this year’s Hornung Award preseason watch list.

The 2016-17 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court was announced on Tuesday, with nine students from five Big Ten institutions recognized. Illinois’ Michael Finke and Cameron Liss, Michigan State’s Matt Van Dyk, Nebraska’s Tanner Borchardt and Michael Jacobson, Purdue’s Dakota Mathias and P.J. Thompson and Wisconsin’s Matt Ferris and Aaron Moesch were named to the Honors Court, which recognizes student-athletes who excelled in academics during the past season. In order to be named to the Honors Court, a student must meet a high standard of academic criteria, including a cumulative 3.2 grade-point-average at the conclusion of the academic year. Honorees must also academically have junior or senior status, and have matriculated at least one year at their current institution.

Four Big Ten men’s gymnastics teams were named among the nation’s top 10 National Academic Team Champions, as announced Wednesday by the College Gymnastics Association. Nebraska rated first in the country with a team grade point average (GPA) of 3.505. Penn State (3.284) and Minnesota (3.280) were fifth and sixth, respectively, while Illinois (3.151) was eighth. Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio State earned honorable mention accolades. Additionally, 43 Big Ten gymnasts were among the 86 in the country to be named first-team All-American Scholar-Athletes, while another 65 across the country, including 26 in the Big Ten, earned second-team distinction. Seven first-team scholars maintained perfect 4.0 GPAs, including four from the Big Ten in Michigan’s Christopher Krystek, Nebraska’s Evan Hymanson and Chris Stephenson, and Penn State’s Noah Roberson. Illinois’ Joey Peters was one of five gymnasts designated as a first-team Academic All-American Scholar-Athlete for all four years of their eligibility.

Six Big Ten men’s golf teams were recognized this past week by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) with All-Academic Team honors for achieving a grade point average of 3.0 or better for the 2016-17 academic year. In all, a total of 102 Division I teams, earned GPAs of 3.00 or higher this season, including a conference contingent made up of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State and Wisconsin.

Finally this week, congratulations to Michigan State and Minnesota for being recognized by the American Baseball Coaches Association with this year's ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award. Teams from every level of college and high school baseball were honored with the award, which recognizes teams coached by ABCA members that posted a GPA over 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the 2016-17 academic year. In total, 221 programs were recognized with the 2016-17 ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award, including 70 high school programs and 60 teams from NCAA Division III.