Nov. 25, 2014
Colonel Mike Hopkins, UI graduate and current astronaut, shows his school colors during his Spring 2014 commencement address.
ROSEMONT, Ill. - Illinois' Mike Hopkins was named the recipient of the Big Ten's Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award, while Michigan's Brian Griese was honored with the Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award, the conference announced on Tuesday. The awards recognize Big Ten football players that have achieved success in the areas of leadership and humanitarianism after their college careers have ended.
Hopkins was a four-year letterwinner for the Illini and a team captain in 1991, earning the Big Ten Medal of Honor while completing an undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering. A distinguished graduate of the Reserve Officers Training Corps, Hopkins earned a Masters of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Stanford University in 1992. That same year, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force, working in advanced space system technologies. Hopkins entered the flight test engineering course in 1996, graduating the following year. After posts in Canada and Italy, Hopkins was assigned to the United States Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office at the Pentagon in 2005, serving as a project engineer and program manager. He was selected for Astronaut Candidate Training at NASA in 2009 and graduated in 2011. Two years later, he served as a flight engineer on Expedition 37/38, a 166-day mission to the International Space Station during which Hopkins completed 2,656 orbits of the Earth and traveled more than 70 million miles. Hopkins has risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel during a decorated career in the Air Force, earning numerous medals for aerial achievement and meritorious service.
Griese led the Wolverines to an undefeated season in 1997 that culminated with a victory over Washington State in the 1998 Rose Bowl and Michigan's 11th national championship. Griese was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft and played 11 seasons in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl ring. In 2002, Griese founded Judi's House, named in honor of his mother who succumbed to breast cancer when he was 12 years old. The organization seeks to help grieving children and their caregivers in the Denver area. In 2011, Griese was honored for his work with Judi's House when he was given the Patterson Award for Excellence in Sports Philanthropy, which celebrates and promotes the selfless service of people within the world of sports. He also helped establish what would become the Griese, Hutchinson and Woodson Champions for Children's Hearts golf weekend in May of 2007. The event benefited the capital campaign for construction of the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, located in Ann Arbor, Mich., as well as the Michigan Congenital Heart Center (MCHC) which resides within Mott. He has also stayed involved with the From the Heart Organization, a relationship that dates back to his playing days at Michigan when he would visit the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital every week. Griese has served as a college football analyst for ESPN since 2009.
The Ford-Kinnick Leadership and Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian awards are part of the Big Ten's annual awards program. The Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award is named for Michigan's Gerald Ford and Iowa's Nile Kinnick. The Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award is named for Minnesota's Tony Dungy and Indiana's Anthony Thompson. For more information on these awards, including biographical information on the namesakes, visit bigten.org.
Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award Recipients:
- 2011: Archie Griffin, OSU
- 2012: Jon Runyan, MICH
- 2013: Gene Washington, MSU
- 2014: Mike Hopkins, ILL
Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award Recipients:
- 2011: George Taliaferro, IND
- 2012: Chris Spielman, OSU
- 2013: Drew Brees, PUR
- 2014: Brian Griese, MICH
