Cockburn, Howell Named Dike Eddleman Illinois Athletes of the Year

Dike Eddleman Athlete of the Year History

Champaign, ILL.– The University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) announced Tuesday that consensus first-team basketball All-American Kofi Cockburn and track All-American Olivia Howell are winners of the 2021-22 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.

Cockburn’s selection marks the third year in a row that a men’s basketball player has won the Eddleman award, following Ayo Dosunmu’s back-to-back selections in 2020 and 2021. Cockburn is the 20th basketball recipient overall dating back to 1940, when Illinois began selecting its Athlete of the Year.

KOFI COCKBURN | 2022 Dike Eddleman Male Athlete of the Year

• NCAA Consensus First-Team All-American
• Only player in the nation to average 20+ points (20.9 ppg) and 10+ rebounds (10.6 rpg)
• Only player to rank in the top 20 nationally in both scoring (11th) and rebounding (8th)
• First-Team All-America selection by Associated Press, NABC, USBWA, Sporting News, The Athletic, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Field of 68 and College Hoops Today
• Wooden Award All-American Team
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Finalist
• Unanimous First-Team All-Big Ten, NABC First-Team All-District 7 and USBWA All-District V Team

Howell, meanwhile, wins the Eddleman award for a second-consecutive season. She becomes the sixth female track and field athlete to repeat as Eddleman honoree, and the 20^th recipient overall from track and field since the Illinois Female Athlete of the Year award was first handed out in 1977.

OLIVIA HOWELL | 2022 Dike Eddleman Female Athlete of the Year

• NCAA First-Team Indoor All-American in the Mile, finishing fifth (4:36.86)
• NCAA Second-Team Outdoor All-American in the 1500m, placing ninth with a season-best time of 4:12.22
• Big Ten Indoor Mile Champion for the second-straight season, earning First-Team All-Big Ten
• Big Ten Outdoor 1500m Champion for the second-straight season, earning First-Team All-Big Ten
• Fifth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships equaled the highest finish in program history in the mile
• Set school record in the mile three weeks in a row, with her final record-breaking time of 4:33.75 at the Indoor Music City Challenge also setting a facility record at the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility
• Anchored distance medley relay team to runner-up finish at Big Ten Indoor Meet for Second-Team All-Conference accolades

As Fighting Illini Athletes of the Year, Cockburn 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).