Seven Sooners Earn Lage Award

Seven University of Oklahoma student-athletes have earned the Big 12's second annual Dr. Gerald Lage award, the conference's highest academic honor.

In order to be eligible for the accolade, student-athletes must have lettered at least once in their career while maintaining residence at their institution for at least one academic year. The honoree, which can only be recognized once, should have 100 hours of earned credit with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.80 at the time of the nomination.

2013 University of Oklahoma Dr. Gerald Lage Award Winners

Student-Athlete Year Sport Major

Jacy Bennett Senior Track and Field Supply Chain Management

Laura Combs Junior Rowing Environmental Sustainability

Patrick Graham Senior Wrestling Latin American Studies

Whitney Hand Senior Basketball Graduate - Human Relations

Gabe Ikard Junior Football Multidisciplinary Studies

Katharine Nutman Senior Soccer History

Ryan Proctor Junior Tennis Mechanical Engineering

The honor is in memory of Lage, who served as the Oklahoma State faculty athletics representative with the NCAA and the Big Eight/Big 12 Conference from 1983 until his death in 2007. He was the chairman on three occasions (1985-86, 93-94 and 2003-04). Lage had been a member of the Oklahoma State family since 1966, when he joined the College of Business Administration as an assistant professor. During his tenure at OSU, he served as the director of graduate studies in the department of economics (1974-77), head of the department of economics and finance (1978-84), director of the OSU Center for International Trade and Development (1985-87), and associate dean for research and graduate programs in the college of business administration (1997-2004).

The 75 Dr. Gerald Lage award winners will receive public recognition at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Basketball Championships.