Big Ten Announces Humanitarian and Leadership Awards

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Maryland’s Madieu Williams was chosen as this year’s recipient of the Big Ten’s Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award, while Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson received the Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award, the conference announced Tuesday. These awards recognize Big Ten football student-athletes who have achieved success in the areas of humanitarianism and leadership following their academic and athletic careers at a Big Ten university.

Williams played defensive back for the Terrapins from 2001-03, leading Maryland to the 2001 ACC Championship title, 2002 Peach Bowl crown and 2003 Gator Bowl title. He was voted a third-team All-American by The Sporting News and twice earned second-team All-ACC honors. Williams was selected in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals and spent nine years playing professionally. His efforts off the field led to him being honored as the 2010 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year.

In 2006, Williams founded The Madieu Williams Foundation, which focuses on health, wellness, nutrition, fitness and education for youth to teach them the importance of a healthy lifestyle. In addition to his foundation, he also established the DIEU’s Crew while with the Minnesota Vikings. The mission has transitioned from Minneapolis to Prince George’s County in Maryland as a life skills program for youth. Each year on Maryland Day, Williams hosts a free football camp, run by former and current Terps and NFL players.

Williams’ philanthropy extended beyond the U.S. borders with PROJECT: Sierra Leone. In 2008, Williams funded the construction of the Abigail D. Butscher Primary School in Calaba Town of Sierra Leone. Born and raised in Sierra Leone, West Africa, Williams established the school in honor of his late mother to offer children of Calaba Town the opportunity to attend school expense-free. The school is fully resourced by the Madieu Williams Foundation.

Williams also decided to give back to his alma mater. In 2009, he donated $2 million to the University of Maryland to help create the Madieu Williams Center for Global Health Initiatives. The center was built to focus on the public health issues in Prince George’s County and Sierra Leone. It is the largest gift to the university by an African American alumnus.

After spending 2007-10 at North Carolina State, Wilson took his talents to Wisconsin, where he played quarterback for the Badgers during the 2011 season. Named the 2011 Griese-Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, he led Wisconsin to the Big Ten Championship title and earned consensus first-team All-Big Ten laurels. Wilson was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft and championed the organization to back-to-back NFC Championships in 2013 and 2014. In his 10 seasons with Seattle, he led the team to more wins than any other quarterback in team history, held the NFL record for most regular season wins by a quarterback in his first nine seasons and had the second-highest passer rating in NFL history. Currently with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he is a nine-time NFL Pro Bowler, Super Bowl XLVIII Champion and was chosen as the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2020.

In 2014, Wilson founded the Why Not You Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating real and lasting change in the world by motivating and empowering today’s youth. He celebrated the grand opening of the first Why Not You Academy in 2021, a tuition-free charter public high school to serve systemically underserved students near Seattle. He also collaborated with Feeding America and Wheels Up that year to donate 10 million meals to families experiencing food insecurity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Richmond, Va., native was rewarded the Bart Starr Award for his service during the 2022 Super Bowl weekend.

Wilson also established the Russell Wilson Quarterback Academy as a springboard to develop quarterback prospects using unique and cutting-edge curriculum based on his own experiences and knowledge. It is an extension of the Russell Wilson Passing Academy (RWPA), a summer football camp for children of all ages. Since its inception in 2012, RWPA has held camps in nine cities and worked with more than 9,000 children.

Continuing his passion and commitment to creating opportunities for kids to play football, he was named chairman of NFL Flag and helped found the Russell Wilson NFL Flag League in Seattle.

The Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian and Ford-Kinnick Leadership Awards are part of the Big Ten’s annual awards program. The Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award is named for Minnesota’s Tony Dungy and Indiana’s Anthony Thompson. The Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award is named for Michigan’s Gerald Ford and Iowa’s Nile Kinnick. For more information on these awards, including biographical information on the namesakes, visit bigten.org.

 
Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award Recipients
2011: George Taliaferro, IND
2012: Chris Spielman, OSU
2013: Drew Brees, PUR
2014: Brian Griese, MICH
2015: John Shinsky, MSU
2016: Trent Green, IND
2017: Chad Greenway, IOWA
2018: Jake Wood, WIS
2019: J.J. Watt, WIS
2020: Vincent Smith, MICH
2021: Malcolm Jenkins, OSU
2022: Nate Sudfeld, IND
2023: Dick Butkus, ILL
2024: Madieu Williams, MD

Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award Recipients
2011: Archie Griffin, OSU
2012: Jon Runyan, MICH
2013: Gene Washington, MSU
2014: Mike Hopkins, ILL
2015: Brian Griese, MICH
2016: Reggie McKenzie, MICH
2017: Troy Vincent, WIS
2018: Antwaan Randle El, IND
2019: Doug Schlereth, IND
2020: Napoleon Harris, NU
2021: Pat Richter, WIS
2022: Ron Guenther, ILL
2023: Richard Coachys, IND
2024: Russell Wilson, WIS