Sooners to be Honored in New York

NORMAN, Okla. – Three members of the University of Oklahoma are to be recognized in New York on Tuesday by the National Football Foundation.

Vice president for intercollegiate athletics and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione, former three-time All-American Rod Shoate and senior offensive lineman Gabe Ikard are all set to be honored Tuesday night at the 56^th NFF Annual Awards Dinner.

Fans can watch a live stream of the Awards Dinner starting at 7 p.m. CT, and the morning press conference beginning at 8 a.m. CT, on ESPN3 and the NFF's homepage at www.footballfoundation.org.

In May, Castiglione was named the 2013 recipient of the John L. Toner Award, which is presented annually by the NFF to an athletic director who has demonstrated superior administrative abilities and shown outstanding dedication to college athletics and particularly college football.

Also in May, Shoate was selected to the 2013 College Football Hall of Fame Class. The inductions will take place Tuesday night, while the enshrinement ceremony is scheduled for the summer of 2014 in Atlanta, Ga.

Shoate was a three-time All-America pick as a linebacker for the Sooners from 1972-74. He earned consensus First Team All-America honors in 1973 and was a unanimous pick in 1974 when the Sooners claimed the national championship under head coach Barry Switzer. A two-time Big Eight Defensive Player of Year, he finished seventh in the 1974 Heisman Trophy voting. Shoate concluded his career with 420 tackles, the third-highest total in school history.

With Shoate's induction, OU has now placed 20 players and five former coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame, the most of any Big 12 school. Prior to Shoate, the last Sooner to be selected was Clendon Thomas in 2011.

On Oct. 31, Ikard was announced as one of 16 winners of the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Awards and a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, awarded to the best scholar-athlete in the nation. Selected by the NFF Awards Committee, Ikard and the other honorees will be recognized Tuesday with each receiving an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. One will be named as the recipient of the Campbell Trophy.

A native of Oklahoma City, Ikard is a senior co-captain who has started in 51 games in his career, including every game this season. A midseason All-American by USA Today, Sports Illustrated and CBSSports.com, Ikard graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA in multidisciplinary studies in May and is currently a graduate student at OU.

Players Mentioned

Gabe Ikard

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics