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Kofi Cockburn named Illinois Male Athlete of the Year

The finishing touch on Kofi’s Illini career.

By Drew Pastorek
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Syndication: Journal-Courier Nikos Frazier / Journal & Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK

Former Illinois center Kofi Cockburn was voted as the Dike Eddleman Male Athlete of the Year, per a release from the Division of Intercollegiate of Athletics (DIA) on Tuesday night.

Cockburn helped lead the Fighting Illini to their second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and the program’s first regular-season Big Ten championship since 2005. Kofi finished the 2021-22 season with 585 points, 296 rebounds, and 59.3 % field goal shooting. He set the all-time program record with 45 double-doubles (17 this season) and was recognized as a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection and a consensus First Team All-American.

Other notable Kofi highlights include:

  • Only player in the nation to average 20+ points (20.9 ppg) and 10+ rebounds (10.6 rpg)
  • First Illini since 1972 to average 20+ points and 10+ rebounds in a single season
  • Only player to rank in the top 20 nationally in both scoring (11th) and rebounding (8th) for the 2021-22 season
  • 12th all-time in school history in scoring (1,546 points), 4th in free throw attempts (584), 3rd in total rebounds (861), T-6th in rebounding average (9.6 rpg), 8th in blocks (111)

This is the third consecutive season that a men’s basketball player has won Male Athlete of the Year, after Ayo Dosunmu was bestowed the honor in 2020 & 2021.

FightingIllini.com

Not to be outdone, Fighting Illini track & field star Olivia Howell is a recipient of the Eddleman Award for the second year in a row.

Earlier this month Howell competed for a national championship in the 1500-meter run, finishing the race in ninth place with a season-best time of 4:12.22. Other 2021-22 accolades for Howell include:

  • NCAA First-Team Indoor All-American in the Mile, finishing fifth (4:36.86)
  • NCAA Second-Team Outdoor All-American in the 1500m
  • Big Ten Indoor Mile Champion for the second-straight season, earning First-Team All-Conference
  • Big Ten Outdoor 1500m Champion for the second-straight season, earning First-Team All-Conference
  • Set school record in the mile three weeks in a row, with her final record-breaking time of 4:33.75

Congrats to Kofi & Olivia! We look forward to many more great moments in the future.

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