Eddleman Athlete of the Year History | Buy Tickets

CHAMPAIGN Ill. – The University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) announced Wednesday that football consensus All-American Devon Witherspoon and track national champion Olivia Howell are winners of the 2022-23 Dike Eddleman Award, presented annually to the top Fighting Illini male and female athlete. The recipients were selected by vote of Illinois head coaches and DIA executive staff.

Witherspoon is the first football player to earn the Eddleman Award since J Leman in 2008. He is the 26th football player overall to win, dating back to 1940 when Illinois began selecting its Athlete of the Year. Football has the most recipients among all Illinois sports. 

DEVON WITHERSPOON, Football | Dike Eddleman Male Athlete of the Year

• No. 5 overall pick in 2023 NFL Draft by Seattle Seahawks – the highest-drafted defensive back in school history and Illinois' highest draft pick since 1996
• Consensus All-American – the first Illini defensive back ever to earn that honor and just the 21st in school history
• Thorpe Award finalist – the first in Illinois history – as one of the top three cornerbacks in college football
• Big Ten's Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year
• First-Team All-Big Ten by both coaches and media
• Semifinalist for the Bednarik Award, as one of the top 20 defensive players in college football
• Started all 12 regular season games at cornerback, tallying 40 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, and 14 pass breakups, while not allowing a touchdown all season
• Allowed fewer than 35 receiving yards in 11 of 12 games this season while matching up with opponent's No. 1 receivers
• No. 1 coverage grade in the nation (92.5), according to Pro Football Focus (PFF)
• No. 2 graded cornerback in the nation, No. 1 in Power-5 (92.0), according to PFF
• Allowed only 16 catches on 54 targets, and just 3.3 yards against per attempt as the primary defender, according to ESPN

Howell, meanwhile, wins the Eddleman award for a school-record tying third consecutive season. She is the fourth athlete in Illinois history to claim the honor three years in a row, and the first since Angela Bizzarri of track/cross country did so from 2008 through 2010. Howell is the 21st recipient overall from track since the Illinois Female Athlete of the Year award was first handed out in 1977. Track & Field has the most selections among UI women's sports.

OLIVIA HOWELL, Track & Field/Cross Country | Dike Eddleman Female Athlete of the Year

• National Champion in the Mile with a facility record 4:34.00 (Albuquerque Convention Center) at NCAA Indoor Championships
• All-American in the 1,500m, finishing eighth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in season-best time of 4:11.54
• Won third straight indoor Big Ten Mile title (4:35.48)
• Won third straight Big Ten outdoor 1500m title (4:20.13)
• Turned around a couple hours later to take second in the 5000m at Big Ten Outdoors with the program's third fastest time (16:12.40)
• Won the 800m at the UNF East Coast Relays on the program's second fastest time (2:02.50)
• NCAA Midwest Region Cross Country individual champion, clocking Illinois' third-best 6K time in school history (20:02.9)
• Also won the 5K John McNichols Invitational (17:17.8) and 6K Gans Creek Classic (20:21.1)

As Fighting Illini Athletes of the Year, Witherspoon and Howell become Illinois' nominees for Big Ten Athlete of the Year honors.

THE DIKE EDDLEMAN AWARD
The University of Illinois Athlete of the Year was first awarded in 1940. The award was given annually until it was discontinued for a brief period in 1973. Since 1983, the University of Illinois has recognized both a Male and Female Athlete of the Year. In 1993, the awards were named in honor of the 11-time UI letterman and former Olympian Dwight "Dike" Eddleman, who is generally considered the greatest athlete in the history of Illinois athletics. Eddleman participated in basketball, football and track & field in 1943 and 1946-49, earning a combined 11 varsity letters in his career.

The list of all-time Fighting Illini greats who have been selected as Athlete of the Year include names like Dike Eddleman himself (football, basketball, track, 1948 & '49), Dick Butkus (football, 1964 & '65), Nancy Thies (gymnastics, 1977), Craig Virgin (track and cross country, 1977), Tony Eason (football, 1982 & '83), Mary Eggers (volleyball, 1987, '88 & '89), Kendall Gill (basketball, 1990), Renee Slone (Heiken) (golf, 1991 & '92), Tonja Buford-Bailey (track, 1992 & '93), Kevin Hardy (football, 1996), Ashley Berggren (basketball, 1997 & '98), Perdita Felicien (track, 2001, '02 & '03), Justin Spring (gymnastics, 2004 & '06), Deron Williams (basketball, 2005), Kevin Anderson (tennis, 2007), Angela Bizzarri (track and cross country, 2008, '09, & '10), Scott Langley (golf, 2010), Andrew Riley (track, 2011 & '12), Janelle Flaws (soccer, 2014), Tyler Jay (baseball, 2015), Isaiah  Martinez (wrestling, 2016 & '17), Jordyn Poulter (volleyball, 2018 & '19) and Ayo  Dosunmu (basketball, 2020 & '21).