UPI College Basketball Player of the Year
UPI College Basketball Player of the Year | |
---|---|
Awarded for | the most outstanding NCAA Division I men's basketball player |
Country | United States |
Presented by | United Press International |
First awarded | 1955 |
Last awarded | 1996 |
Currently held by | Ray Allen, Connecticut |
The UPI College Basketball Player of the Year was an annual basketball award given to the best men's basketball player in NCAA Division I competition. The award was first given following the 1954–55 season and was discontinued following the 1995–96 season. It was given by United Press International (UPI), a news agency in the United States that rivaled the Associated Press but began to decline with the advent of television news.
Five players—Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, Lew Alcindor[a], Bill Walton and Ralph Sampson—won the award multiple times. Of these five, only Robertson, Walton and Sampson were three-time UPI Players of the Year.
UCLA had the most all-time winners with six. Ohio State was second with four winners, while Cincinnati and Virginia were tied for third with three winners apiece. Five other schools had two winners and sixteen schools had only one UPI Player of the Year.
Eight of the winners were sophomores, seven were juniors, and the remaining 27 were seniors. No freshman was ever presented the award.
Key
Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Player of the Year award at that point |
Winners
Season | Player | School | Position | Class |
---|---|---|---|---|
1954–55 | Gola, TomTom Gola | La Salle | Forward | Senior |
1955–56 | Russell, BillBill Russell | San Francisco | Center | Senior |
1956–57 | Forte, ChetChet Forte | Columbia | Point guard | Senior |
1957–58 | Robertson, OscarOscar Robertson | Cincinnati | Point guard | Sophomore |
1958–59 | Robertson, OscarOscar Robertson (2) | Cincinnati | Point guard | Junior |
1959–60 | Robertson, OscarOscar Robertson (3) | Cincinnati | Point guard | Senior |
1960–61 | Lucas, JerryJerry Lucas | Ohio State | Forward / Center | Junior |
1961–62 | Lucas, JerryJerry Lucas (2) | Ohio State | Forward / Center | Senior |
1962–63 | Heyman, ArtArt Heyman | Duke | Guard / Forward | Senior |
1963–64 | Bradds, GaryGary Bradds | Ohio State | Forward | Senior |
1964–65 | Bradley, BillBill Bradley | Princeton | Small forward / Shooting guard | Senior |
1965–66 | Russell, CazzieCazzie Russell | Michigan | Shooting guard | Senior |
1966–67 | Alcindor, LewLew Alcindor[a] | UCLA | Center | Sophomore |
1967–68 | Hayes, ElvinElvin Hayes | Houston | Forward / Center | Senior |
1968–69 | Alcindor, LewLew Alcindor[a] (2) | UCLA | Center | Senior |
1969–70 | Maravich, PetePete Maravich | LSU | Guard | Senior |
1970–71 | Carr, AustinAustin Carr | Notre Dame | Guard | Senior |
1971–72 | Walton, BillBill Walton | UCLA | Center | Sophomore |
1972–73 | Walton, BillBill Walton (2) | UCLA | Center | Junior |
1973–74 | Walton, BillBill Walton (3) | UCLA | Center | Senior |
1974–75 | Thompson, DavidDavid Thompson | NC State | Shooting guard / Small forward | Senior |
1975–76 | May, ScottScott May | Indiana | Forward | Senior |
1976–77 | Johnson, MarquesMarques Johnson | UCLA | Guard / Forward | Senior |
1977–78 | Lee, ButchButch Lee | Marquette | Point guard | Senior |
1978–79 | Bird, LarryLarry Bird | Indiana State | Small forward | Senior |
1979–80 | Aguirre, MarkMark Aguirre | DePaul | Small forward | Sophomore |
1980–81 | Sampson, RalphRalph Sampson | Virginia | Center | Sophomore |
1981–82 | Sampson, RalphRalph Sampson (2) | Virginia | Center | Junior |
1982–83 | Sampson, RalphRalph Sampson (3) | Virginia | Center | Senior |
1983–84 | Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan | North Carolina | Shooting guard | Junior |
1984–85 | Mullin, ChrisChris Mullin | St. John's | Small forward / Shooting guard | Senior |
1985–86 | Berry, WalterWalter Berry | St. John's | Power forward | Senior |
1986–87 | Robinson, DavidDavid Robinson | Navy | Center | Senior |
1987–88 | Hawkins, HerseyHersey Hawkins | Bradley | Shooting guard | Senior |
1988–89 | Ferry, DannyDanny Ferry | Duke | Power forward / Center | Senior |
1989–90 | Simmons, LionelLionel Simmons | La Salle | Small forward | Senior |
1990–91 | O'Neal, ShaquilleShaquille O'Neal | LSU | Center | Sophomore |
1991–92 | Jackson, JimJim Jackson | Ohio State | Shooting guard | Junior |
1992–93 | Cheaney, CalbertCalbert Cheaney | Indiana | Small forward | Senior |
1993–94 | Robinson, GlennGlenn Robinson | Purdue | Small forward / Power forward | Sophomore |
1994–95 | Smith, JoeJoe Smith | Maryland | Center | Sophomore |
1995–96 | Allen, RayRay Allen | Connecticut | Shooting guard | Junior |
Winners by school
School | Winners | Years |
---|---|---|
UCLA | 6 | 1967, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977 |
Ohio State | 4 | 1961, 1962, 1964, 1992 |
Cincinnati | 3 | 1958, 1959, 1960 |
Virginia | 3 | 1981, 1982, 1983 |
Duke | 2 | 1963, 1989 |
Indiana | 2 | 1976, 1993 |
La Salle | 2 | 1955, 1990 |
LSU | 2 | 1970, 1991 |
St. John's | 2 | 1985, 1986 |
Bradley | 1 | 1988 |
Columbia | 1 | 1957 |
Connecticut | 1 | 1996 |
DePaul | 1 | 1980 |
Houston | 1 | 1968 |
Indiana State | 1 | 1979 |
Marquette | 1 | 1978 |
Maryland | 1 | 1995 |
Michigan | 1 | 1966 |
Navy | 1 | 1987 |
NC State | 1 | 1975 |
North Carolina | 1 | 1984 |
Notre Dame | 1 | 1971 |
Princeton | 1 | 1965 |
Purdue | 1 | 1994 |
San Francisco | 1 | 1956 |
Footnotes
References
- General
- "United Press International Player of the Year". AmericasBestOnline.com. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
- "Men's College Basketball: Player of the Year Awards → United Press International". HickokSports.com. 2006. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
- Specific
- ↑ Associated Press (4 June 1971). "Call Me 'Kareem' says Lew Alcindor" (Google News Archive). The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- ↑ "'Big O' Completes Bucks' Championship Run". NBA Encyclopedia Playoff Edition. National Basketball Association. 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2010.