Football
Anna Dong (Texas Tech women’s golf) and Brock Purdy (Iowa State football) were named the recipients of the 2021-22 Big 12 Sportsmanship Awards, the Conference announced.
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.
One of the most active student-athletes on the Texas Tech campus, Anna Dong is the Vice President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and will serve as the student-athlete representative for the Texas Tech Athletic Advisory Committee for the 2022-23 year. She helped the golf program lead all Texas Tech women’s teams in community service contributions, and participated in programs such as Suited for Success, Wreck ‘Em Prep and the NCAA Career Sports Forum.
She is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree, and is a two-time Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-America Scholar. The Guangzhou, China native is a regular honoree on the Texas Tech President’s and Dean’s Lists.
On the course, she is known as an ideal playing partner due to her friendly personality and ability to befriend almost anyone. Dong averaged 73.3 strokes per round as the Red Raiders advanced to the NCAA Regionals.
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 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 selection. The Gilbert, Arizona native graduated cum laude with a degree in communications studies.
Purdy 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.
Schools had the opportunity to nominate for the Big 12 Male and Female Sportsmanship Award. Nominees included: Jason Baldridge (Baylor men’s track and field), Ruby Chou (Iowa State women’s golf), Hannah Coleman (Oklahoma State equestrian), Ivana Corley (Oklahoma women’s tennis), Pat Fields (Oklahoma football), Daton Fix (Oklahoma State wrestling), Shelby Gayre (Kansas softball), Sabrina Iqbal (TCU women’s golf), Kassidy Johnson (Kansas State women’s cross country/track and field), Sean Mahone (West Virginia football), David McCormack (Kansas men’s basketball), Jacqueline McCutchan (West Virginia women’s swimming and diving), Haley Peterson (Baylor equestrian), Luke Savage (TCU baseball), Tejaswin Shankar (Kansas State men’s track and field) and Bryson Williams (Texas Tech men’s basketball).
