Eddleman Athlete of the Year History
CHAMPAIGN Ill. – The University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) announced Tuesday that All-American Terrence Shannon Jr. and track national champion Rose Yeboah are winners of the 2023-24 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.
Shannon is the fourth player from head coach Brad Underwood's men's basketball program to earn the Eddleman Award in the last five years, joining Ayo Dosunmu (2020 and 2021) and Kofi Cockburn (2022). He is the 21st men's basketball player overall to win, dating back to 1940 when Illinois began selecting its Athlete of the Year.
TERRENCE SHANNON JR., Basketball | Dike Eddleman Male Athlete of the Year
- All-American by four media outlets after helping leading Illinois to 29 wins, the third-winningest season in school history, and No. 6 ranking in final AP poll
- NCAA All-Region Team selection, leading Illinois to its first Elite Eight appearance since 2005
- Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player, starring as Illinois won its third conference title in four years
- First-team All-Big Ten by the coaches, media, and AP
- Shattered the Illinois all-time single season scoring record, totaling 736 points (first Illini ever to top 700 points)
- Ranked third in the NCAA in scoring at 23.0 ppg, the highest scoring average by an Illini player in 51 years
- Set the Big Ten Tournament's three-game scoring record with an astounding 34.0 points-per-game average (102 total) en route to being named Tournament Most Outstanding Player
- Set an Illinois single-season record with 21 20-point games
- Also set an Illini single-season with 221 made free throws
Yeboah is the fourth consecutive recipient from the Illini women's track & field program to earn the Eddleman award, and the second of coach Petros Kyprianou's two-year tenure. She is the 22nd winner 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 Illini women's sports programs.
ROSE YEBOAH, Track & Field | Dike Eddleman Female Athlete of the Year
- National Champion in the high jump clearing a NCAA Outdoor Championships meet and school-record mark of 1.97m (6-5 1/2)
- First Illini woman to win a field event title at the National meet (indoors or outdoors)
- Her mark of 1.97m automatically qualified her to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where she will represent Ghana
- Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year, the first in Illinois women's track & field history
- Big Ten Outdoor Champion in the high jump and first team All-Big Ten with a mark of 1.82m (5-11 1/2)
- First Illini Big Ten champion in the high jump since Stacy Ann Grant in 1998
- All-American with an eighth-place finish in the high jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships, 1.88m (6-2)
As Fighting Illini Athletes of the Year, Shannon and Yeboah 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 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), Ayo Dosunmu (basketball, 2020 & '21), and Devon Witherspoon (football, 2023).
