Oklahoma State University Athletics
Howell Named Big 12 Athlete of the Year
April 15, 2003 | Cowboy Golf
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 & field
Big 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
