AMES, Iowa – Iowa State’s Brock Purdy has been named a recipient of the 2021-22 Big 12 Sportsmanship Award, the Conference announced Tuesday. Purdy won the award along with Anna Dong (Texas Tech women’s golf).
The awards, previously called the Sportsperson of the Year, began in 2000-01 to annually recognize student-athletes who displayed an extraordinary degree of sportsmanship, community service and academic achievement. This year’s winners were selected by a 10-person media panel.
Purdy was the Iowa State football team’s advocate for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, presenting to groups, leading bible studies and taking speaking engagements, with little notoriety for his contributions. He was involved in events such as Night to Shine, a special-needs prom, Iowa State’s Victory Day, an event for individuals with disabilities to compete in drills at MidAmerican Energy Field at Jack Trice Stadium, and the Boys & Girls Club Day for Kids. He visited with students at local high schools, both as a keynote speaker for Fields of Faith and with regular in-person and zoom visits.
Purdy was a two-time CoSIDA Second Team Academic All-America selection and three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree. The Gilbert, Arizona, native graduated cum laude with a degree in communications studies.
He was ISU’s starting quarterback for 46 consecutive games, and finished his career with 32 Iowa State records. After the season, he was selected in the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.
Purdy is the third Iowa State student-athlete to earn the honor, following wrestler Cael Sanderson (2001-02) and football player David Montgomery (2018-19).
Schools had the opportunity to nominate for the Big 12 Male and Female Sportsmanship Award. Ruby Chou of the Iowa State women’s golf team was also nominated. Chou, a sophomore from Taipei, Taiwan, volunteers heavily with the Rosedale Shelter through her degree program of criminal justice.
