Oklahoma State University Athletics
Howell Named Big 12 Athlete of the Year
June 15, 2000 | Cowboy Golf
June 15, 2000
STILLWATER, Okla. - Charles Howell has been named the male recipient of the Big 12 Conference Athlete of the Year award.
Howell was the Big 12 and NCAA men's golf individual champion in 2000. The Augusta, Ga., junior won the Jack Nicklaus Award as the national collegiate player of the year. Howell won the NCAA Championships at Grand National Golf Club in Opelika, Ala., by eight strokes while shattering the individual scoring record. He shot 23-under-par, the previous record, held by four players, had been 17-under. Howell was also the leader of Oklahoma State's ninth men's golf NCAA Division I national-championship team.
This year, Howell set a Cowboy record with a season stroke average of 69.57, also believed to be an NCAA record. He won four events, including a 10-shot victory at the Big 12 Championships in April. He was named the Big 12 Men's Golf Player of the Year and earned first-team All-America honors for the second time in his career. With one season remaining, Howell holds the OSU record for career stroke average and has one year to try to catch Arizona State's Phil Mickelson, who is believed to own the national career record at 70.81.
The men's golf Big 12 Student-Athlete of the Year, Howell was a first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection in 2000 and 1999 and as been a two-time member of OSU's President's Honor Roll.
Howell is the first OSU student-athlete to win conference athlete-of-the-year honors since golfer Scott Verplank won the Big Eight's award in 1986. Mike Sheets (1984, wrestling) and Terry Miller (1978, football) had won the award before Verplank, and Val Skinner (1982, golf) won the women's honor as well.
The Big 12's female and male athletes of the year are chosen by a panel of athletics administrators from each conference institution and media from each school's region. One female and one male student-athlete per school was nominated by the directors of athletics from each institution. The selections were based upon the 1999-2000 athletic performance and academic achievement, with citizenship as a tiebreaker. Along with female honoree Erin Aldrich of Texas, Howell will be honored at the 28th Annual Sports Commission Awards Banquet at the Downtown Muehlbach Hotel in Kansas City on Tuesday.
Big 12 Conference Female Athlete of the Year Winners 1997 Nanceen Perry, Texas, track 1998 Vera Ilyina, Texas, diving 1999 Suziann Reid, Texas, track 2000 Erin Aldrich, Texas, volleyball/track & fieldBig 12 Conference Male Athlete of the Year Winners 1997 Jacque Vaughn, Kansas, basketball 1998 Grant Wistrom, Nebraska, football 1999 Ricky Williams, Texas, football 2000 Charles Howell, Oklahoma State, golf
Previous Southwest Conference Female Athlete of the Year Winners 1984 Carol Lewis, Houston, track 1985 Tiffany Cohen, Texas, swimming 1986 Kamie Ethridge, Texas, basketball 1987 Betsy Mitchell, Texas, swimming 1988 Betsy Mitchell, Texas, swimming 1989 Clarissa Davis, Texas, basketball 1990 Delmonica DeHorney, Arkansas, basketball 1991 Carlette Guidry, Texas, track 1992 Sheryl Swoopes, Texas Tech, basketball 1993 Sheryl Swoopes, Texas Tech, basketball 1994 Eileen Vanisi, Texas, track 1995 Michi Atkins, Texas Tech, basketball 1996 Michi Atkins, Texas Tech, basketball
Previous Southwest Conference Male Athlete of the Year Winners 1984 Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston, basketball 1985 Bubba Jennings, Texas Tech, basketball 1986 Greg Swindell, Texas, baseball 1987 Thomas Everett, Baylor, football 1988 Joe Falcon, Arkansas, track 1989 Scott Bryant, Texas, baseball 1990 Andre Ware, Houston, football 1991 David Klingler, Houston, football 1992 Trevor Cobb, Rice, football 1993 Brooks Kieschnick, Texas, baseball 1994 Justin Leonard, Texas, golf 1995 Kurt Thomas, TCU, basketball 1996 Clint Bryant, Texas Tech, baseball
Previous Big Eight Conference Female Athlete of the Year Winners 1981 Lynette Woodard, Kansas, basketball 1982 Val Skinner, Oklahoma State, golf 1983 Tammy Thomas, Kansas, swimming 1984 Merlene Ottey, Nebraska, track 1985 Joni Davis, Missouri, basketball 1986 Annie Adamczak, Nebraska, volleyball 1987 Renee Kelly, Missouri, basketball 1988 Lorinda Richardson, Missouri, track 1989 Natasha Kaiser, Missouri, track 1990 Virginia Stahr, Nebraska, volleyball 1991 Julie Dorn, Missouri, gymnastics 1992 Edith Nakiyingi, Iowa State, track/cross country 1993 Karen Jennings, Nebraska, basketball 1994 Kwani Stewart, Nebraska, track 1995 Shelley Sheetz, Colorado, basketball 1996 Penny Heyns, Nebraska, swimming
Previous Big Eight Conference Male Athlete of the Year Winners 1973 Chris Taylor, Iowa State, wrestling 1974 Lucious Selmon, Oklahoma, football 1975 Tom Rudd, Nebraska, football Randy Hughes, Oklahoma, football 1976 Lee Roy Selmon, Oklahoma, football 1977 Nolan Cromwell, Kansas, football/track 1978 Terry Miller, Oklahoma State, football 1979 Kellen Winslow, Missouri, football 1980 Billy Sims, Oklahoma, football 1981 Bart Connor, Oklahoma, gymnastics Rolando Blackman, Kansas State, basketball 1982 Jim Hartung, Nebraska, gymnastics 1983 Dave Rimington, Nebraska, football 1984 Mike Sheets, Oklahoma State, wrestling 1985 Joe Dial, Oklahoma State, track 1986 Scott Verplank, Oklahoma State, golf 1987 Danny Noonan, Nebraska, football 1988 Danny Manning, Kansas, basketball 1989 Tim Krieger, Iowa State, wrestling 1990 Mike Busch, Iowa State, baseball 1991 Doug Smith, Missouri, basketball 1992 Anthony Peeler, Missouri, basketball 1993 Rex Walters, Kansas, basketball 1994 Trev Alberts, Nebraska, football 1995 Rob Zatechka, Nebraska, football Fred Hoiberg, Iowa State, basketball 1996 Tommie Frazier, Nebraska, football
