Darlington Earns Big 12 Scholar-Athlete Honor

NORMAN - In a week that has been remarkable in terms of awards, it just got better for Ty Darlington, who was named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year for football by the Big 12 Conference Thursday afternoon.

This award comes on the heels of Darlington receiving the 2015 Wuerffel Trophy and the 2015 William V. Campbell Trophy on Tuesday.

Darlington becomes the fourth Sooner student-athlete to receive the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award from the Big 12. Established during the 2012-13 academic year, each Big 12 institution nominates one individual per sport that the Conference sponsors. The winners are selected by a panel of the league's head coaches for that sport. Coaches are not allowed to vote their own players.

Darlington follows Sallie McLauren, volleyball, and Gabe Ikard, football, winners in 2013-14 and Kevin Williams, outdoor track and field, in 2012-13.

Criteria for the award includes the nominee must be a junior or senior in athletic and academic standing; the cumulative GPA must be 3.20 or higher; must have participated in at least 60 percent of the team's scheduled contests and must have a minimum of at least one year in residence.

Darlington became the first Oklahoma football player to win the Campbell Trophy during the 58th annual National Football Foundation Awards Dinner and College Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria hotel's grand ballroom Tuesday night. The Campbell Trophy is awarded to the individual deemed the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation.

 Ty Darlington earned his third award of the week after being named the Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for football. He also collected the Wuerffel and Campbell trophies earlier in the week.

Earlier Tuesday, he became the second Oklahoma center in the last three years to win the Wuerffel Trophy, known as "College Football's Premier Award for Community Service." Ikard won that award in 2013.

Darlington has made 25 career starts, graduated from OU in two-and-a-half years with a 3.91 GPA in Arts and Sciences planned program (health promotion emphasis) and is in his second semester of work on his master's in adult and higher education (intercollegiate athletics administration emphasis).

He became the 18th University of Oklahoma student-athlete to earn Academic All-America? honors twice in a career when he was named to the 2015 Academic All-America? Division I football team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America a week ago. Darlington was one of three on the team to be recognized as a first-team honoree for the second consecutive year. A total of 10 honorees received Academic All-America? honors for a second time. He also was one of five on the first team who earned a GPA of 4.0.

He is a nominee for the John Wooden Citizenship Cup and the FCA's Bobby Bowden Award.

Other academic awards already received by the Sooners' two-year starting center include the Dr. Gerald Lage Award (highest academic honor given to a student-athlete by the Big 12 Conference) and the 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives Academic Excellence Award. The three-time OU President's Honor Roll member is a two-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree, a six-time Sooner Scholar and Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll selection.

From Apopka, Fla., Darlington has made significant community contributions on campus, around Norman and elsewhere. He is serving as 2015-16 president of the Big 12 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee after serving as the 2014-15 vice president, is one of 15 Division I student-athletes who serves on the NCAA's autonomy legislation committee and was president of the OU Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter in 2013-14 and 2014-15 (he averages between 10-15 FCA speeches per semester).

Darlington has been a leader as much off the field as he has on it for the Sooners. He has won several honors that recognized his community service and academic efforts throughout his time at OU. Here he celebrates with Sooner fans after downing a then No. 4-ranked Baylor 44-24 in Waco on Nov. 14.

Darlington also served as 2014-15 president of the OU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, helped lead the OU football volunteer efforts following the devastating tornadoes that hit Oklahoma in May 2013, volunteers at Oklahoma's Children's Hospital special events, has traveled to Haiti three times as part of the Mission of Hope (earthquake damage relief) and has served as a volunteer football coach at Apopka High School every year since graduation.

Other Big 12 honorees included Craig Nowak, Oklahoma State, men's cross country; Ingeborg Loevnes, Oklahoma State, women's cross country; Koree Willer, Iowa State, soccer, and Kersten Kober, Kansas State, volleyball.