TheJohn R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women'scollege basketball players. The Wooden Award program consists of the men's and women's player of the year awards, theLegends of Coaching Award, and recognizing All-America teams. The player of the year award was originally given only to men's basketball players starting in 1977 and expanded to women's players in 2004. Meanwhile, the Legends of Coaching Award was first presented in 1999.
At the end of each February, the award's National Advisory Board, a 26-member panel, selects 15 men's and 15 women's candidates for player of the year and All-American Team honors.[1] After theElite Eight, the field is narrowed to 10 finalists each.[1] The winner’s university receives a replica trophy.[1] All-America Team members designated charities (official 501(c)(3)) receive a donation from the Wooden Award Foundation as a matching gift.[1] The candidates must be full-time students and have a cumulativegrade point average of 2.00 or higher throughout their college careers. Players who are nominated must have made outstanding contributions to team play, both offensively and defensively, and be model citizens, exhibiting strength of character both on and off the court. The selection ballot is announced prior to theNCAA tournament. The voters consist of 1,000 sportswriters and sportscasters representing the 50 states. The top 10 vote-getters are selected to the All-American Team and the results are announced following the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament. The person who receives the most votes is named the national player of the year, and the winner is announced following the NCAA championship game. The player of the year is awarded a trophy consisting of five bronze figures. The player's school receives a duplicate trophy as well as a scholarship grant. The other top four members of the All-American Team receive an All-American Team trophy, a jacket, and a scholarship grant which goes to their school. Each coach of the top five All-American Team members also receives a jacket. The All-American Team members ranked six through ten receive an All-American Team trophy and a jacket, but their schools do not receive a scholarship.
The criteria for the women's player of the year award and All-American Team honors are similar to those for the men. For the women's award, the National Advisory Board consists of 12 members, and approximately 15 candidates are selected for the ballot. The voters are 250 sportswriters and sportscasters. In contrast to the men's All-American Team, only five members are selected for the women's team. The national player of the year receives a trophy, and her school receives a duplicate trophy and a scholarship grant.
The trophy features five bronze figures, each depicting one of the five major skills that Wooden believed that "total" basketball player must exhibit: rebounding, passing, shooting, dribbling, and defense.[3] The concept for the trophy originated with Wooden Award Chairman, Richard "Duke" Llewellyn.[3] Work began on the trophy in 1975, and sculptor Don Winton, who had sculpted many top sports awards, was given the task of designing the model of the trophy.[3] The figures are bronze plated and attached to a pentagonal base plate.[3] The tallest figure is 101⁄4 inches high (26 cm). The trophy's base is 71⁄2 inches high (19 cm), and is made from solid walnut.[3] The total height of the trophy is17+3⁄4 inches (45 cm), and it weighs 25 lb (11 kg).[3]
In 1976, the Los Angeles Athletic Club was looking to establish the college basketball equivalent of football's Heisman trophy – a nationally prestigious award to be conferred upon the best basketball player in the nation.[4] According to Wagonheim Law inHunt Valley, Maryland, "The LAAC chose to name the award after John Wooden, who signed over the right to use his name to the LAAC, which trademarked it as soon as the contracts were signed.[4] In January 2005, Wooden sought to influence another group for the better by working with a group known as Athletes for a Better World to recognize an athlete, regardless of sport, for contributions outside of the game. The award was dubbed The Wooden Cup. The LAAC balked, citing a violation of its trademark. Still able to size up the opposition after so many years removed from sport, John Wooden conceded."[4]
TheLegends of Coaching Award recognizes the lifetime achievement of coaches who exemplify Coach Wooden's high standards of coaching success and personal achievement. When selecting the individual, the Wooden Award Committee considers a coach's character, success rate on the court, graduating rate of student athletes, his or her coaching philosophy, and identification with the goals of the John R. Wooden Award. This award is bestowed upon both men's and women's coaches. The first recipient who was never a head coach in NCAA Division I was 2021 recipientDave Yanai, whose entire head coaching career was inNCAA Division II.
a The school at which these coaches were presented the Legends of Coaching Award is only listed, for conciseness. Some of them have coached at multiple schools throughout their careers.
^"Coaching award".Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. October 2, 2019. p. D2. RetrievedMay 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.Rutgers women's coach C. Vivian Stringer was announced as the recipient of the Legends of Coaching award and will be honored in April as part of the John R. Wooden Award presentation.
^"Etc".Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. October 5, 2022. p. B8. RetrievedMay 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.South Carolina women's coach Dawn Staley was named the 2023 recipient of the award.
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