Big Ten Medal of Honor History
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. – Football star Nick Allegretti and volleyball standout Ali Bastianelli garnered the prestigious Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor Monday night at the annual Fighting Illini Oskee Awards celebration held at State Farm Center.
This year marks the 105th anniversary of the Big Ten Medal of Honor, awarded annually to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each member institution who has demonstrated excellence on and off the field throughout their college career. The conference's most exclusive award was the first of its kind in intercollegiate athletics to recognize academic and athletic excellence.
The Illini duo joins an exclusive list of some of the top names in Fighting Illini Athletics history. The women's Big Ten Medal of Honor dates back to 1982 and includes names like Lisa Robinson (1982), Lindsey Nimmo (1993), Ashley Berggren (1998), Gia Lewis (2002), Yvonne Mensah (2007), Angela Bizzarri (2010), Vanessa DiBernardo (2014), Nicole Evans (2017) and most recently Nicole Choquette (2018). Bastianelli is the seventh volleyball player to take home the Big Ten Medal of Honor. The most recent volleyball recipient was Liz McMahon in 2015.
The men's award goes all the way back to 1915 with names like Harry Combes (1937), Dike Eddleman (1949), Dave Downey (1963), Craig Virgin (1977), Mike Hopkins (1992), Dee Brown (2006), J Leman (2008), Scott Langley (2011), Nathan Scheelhaase (2014), and most recently Isaiah Martinez (2018) among the impressive list of Illinois recipients. Allegretti is the 20th football player to win the Big Ten Medal of Honor. The most recent football recipient was Joe Spencer in 2017.
» All-time Illini Big Ten Medal of Honor recipients
Allegretti and Bastianelli were just two of more than 500 Fighting Illini student-athletes, managers and cheerleaders honored at the Oskee Awards, an annual event that recognizes graduating student-athletes and others who have excelled both athletically and academically. The event was hosted by former Fighting Illini cheerleader and current television host for KMOV-TV in St. Louis Laura Hettiger.
NICK ALLEGRETTI | 2019 Male Big Ten Medal of Honor
Allegretti was a two-time captain and finished his football career with 36 consecutive starts while playing nearly every snap on the o-line over the last two seasons. He was graded as the third-best offensive guard in the nation in 2018 by Pro Football Focus, allowing just one QB hit and zero sacks on the season while anchoring an offensive line that paved the way for the nation's 12th-ranked rushing offense. PFF graded him as the No. 6 run-blocking guard and the No. 11 pass-blocking guard in the nation.
Off the field, he was the team leader for all community service events throughout his career and served as Illinois' Uplifting Athletes president for the past two years, raising over $88,000 for rare disease research and treatment through the team's annual Lift for Life event. He has been a candidate for many community services awards, including 2018 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Award (Finalist), 2018 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year (semifinalist), 2018 Campbell Trophy (semifinalist) and 2018 Senior CLASS Award candidate.
Allegretti earned a Bachelor's degree in accountancy from the Gies College of Business in Dec. 2017 (3.56 cumulative GPA) and will earn a Master's degree in Recreation, Sport & Tourism in May 2019 (3.49 cumulative GPA).
"Few student-athletes garner as much respect from their peers and coaches as Nick has over the last five years," said Lovie Smith, head football coach for Allegretti's final three seasons. "Nick exemplifies what it means to be a student-athlete in today's environment. If you are fortunate enough to coach long enough, you might get the chance to coach one or two student-athletes with Nick's credentials on and off the field. I am grateful to be in the right place at the right time to catch him during his career at the University of Illinois."
ALI BASTIANELLI | 2019 Female Big Ten Medal of Honor
Bastianelli's accolades on the court are nearly endless. A three-time All-American, All-Region and All-Big Ten honoree, Bastianelli finished her stellar Illini career as the Big Ten's all-time leader in block assists and ranked second in conference history in total blocks, both Illinois program records. She started 135 matches in her UI career, totaling 750 blocks to become the first Illini and third-ever Big Ten player to reach 700 career blocks. She also added 925 kills on a .335 hitting percentage, 114 digs and 46 service aces. In 2018, she helped lead the Fighting Illini national semifinals while earning Champaign Regional All-Tournament Team honors.
Off the court, Bastianelli shows her character in every aspect of her life, whether it is in the classroom, serving in the community or by leading on the court while setting an example for underclassmen to emulate.She is 2018 Senior CLASS Award finalist and a three-time Student-Athlete Advisory Committee rep helping to organize the charity fundraiser Jock Jams event and assembling food baskets for families around Thanksgiving. She also was volunteer at many events including Walk to School Day, Family Fun Night, reading programs, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Cunningham Children's Home and more.
Bastianelli will earn a degree in community health from the College of Applied Health Sciences in May (3.62 cumulative GPA).
"Ali's honors and accolades are the direct results of the work ethic she brings on and off the court," said Chris Tamas, volleyball head coach. "She has been crucial in a leadership role over the past two years since I have taken over the program. We are forever indebted to what Ali has helped create for our program. From an all-around standpoint, I would hold her records and overall recognition on and off the court up against anyone here at Illinois."
