OU's Calmus Named to Preliminary Butkus Award List

Aug. 23, 2001

NORMAN, Okla. - The Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, Inc., the organization which annually presents the prestigious Butkus Award to the nation's best linebacker, has announced the preliminary list of candidates for this year's award, and Oklahoma's Rocky Calmus is an early front-runner.

The Butkus Award and the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando are celebrating their 17th anniversary and the winner will be announced Dec. 7 at the Butkus Award Gala at Hard Rock Live at Universal Studios CityWalk in Orlando. The list will be trimmed to 10 semifinalists on Oct. 18 and then three finalists will be chosen via teleconference on Nov. 8.

The "watch list" includes 68 candidates that represent schools and conferences from across the nation. Members of the selection committee have already begun evaluating the candidates and will continue to do so throughout the entire football season.

Calmus, a finalist for the 2000 award, is one of 14 candidates who are appearing on the Butkus Award "watch list" for the second time. Calmus was a consensus All-America and helped lead the Sooners to the national championship last season.

Brian Bosworth won the award in both 1985 and 1986 while playing for the Sooners.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU's Calmus Named to Preliminary Butkus Award List

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors