This is the 17th year for the Big 12 Sportsperson of the Year Awards, which began in 2000-01. The award is presented each year to a male and female student-athlete who display an extraordinary degree of sportsmanship, community service and academic achievement. The winners are determined by the vote of a media panel.
Perine ended his three-year career in football at Oklahoma as the school’s all-time rushing leader, passing the great Billy Sims for the top spot with 86 rushing yards in the Sooners’ Sugar Bowl victory in January over Auburn. He finished with 4,122 yards for his career, four more than Sims.