Eighty-nine student-athletes have been awarded the 2020 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, the Big 12 Conference’s highest academic honor.
 
The award is in its 10th year and has recognized a total of 780 conference student-athletes. Kansas led the way with 22 honorees, followed by Oklahoma State and Texas Tech with 12 apiece. Baylor had nine award winners, Oklahoma eight, Kansas State seven, Iowa State and West Virginia six each, Texas five and TCU 2.
 
The award is in memory of Lage, who served as the Oklahoma State faculty athletics representative with the NCAA and the Big Eight/Big 12 Conference from 1983 until his death in 2007. He was the chairman on three occasions (1985-86, 93-94 and 2003-04).
 
Lage had been a member of the Oklahoma State family since 1966, when he joined the College of Business Administration as an assistant professor. During his tenure at OSU, he served as the director of graduate studies in the department of economics (1974-77), head of the department of economics and finance (1978-84), director of the OSU Center for International Trade and Development (1985-87), and associate dean for research and graduate programs in the college of business administration (1997-2004).
 
In order to be eligible for the accolade, student-athletes must have lettered at least once in their career while maintaining residence at their institution for at least one academic year. The honoree, which can only be recognized once, should have 100 hours of earned credit with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.80 at the time of the nomination.
 
The Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award recipients’ names will be featured on the video board at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Basketball Championships, scheduled for March 11-15 at the Sprint Center and Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.