BTN Communications, June 15, 2012

CHICAGO - BTN will recognize the best of Big Ten sports in 2011-2012 with the fifth annual BTN Awards show at 7:30 p.m. ET Monday. Dave Revsine, Mike Hall and Rick Pizzo will host the one-hour show.

The announcement of two prestigious Big Ten Conference awards, the Suzy Favor Award, for the best female student-athlete, and the Jesse Owens Award, for the best male student-athlete, will highlight the evening?s festivities. The show also will feature interviews with selected award winners, both coaches and players.

[BTN.com's Brent Yarina offers his BTN Awards Show winners]

Nominees for Men?s Coach of the Year are Indiana basketball?s Tom Crean, Michigan football?s Brady Hoke, Michigan State basketball?s Tom Izzo, and Penn State wrestling?s Cael Sanderson. Nominees for Women?s Coach of the Year are Northwestern lacrosse?s Kelly Amonte Hiller, Minnesota ice hockey?s Brad Frost, Illinois volleyball?s Kevin Hambly, and Penn State basketball?s Coquese Washington.

The other award categories and nominees are as follows:

Breakout Performer of the Year

  • Montee Ball - Wisconsin
  • Tim Frazier - Penn State
  • Whitney Mercilus - Illinois
  • Cody Zeller - Indiana

Most Dominating Performance

  • Montee Ball, Wisconsin - 232 total yards, 3 rushing TDs vs. Purdue on 11/5/2011
  • Draymond Green, Michigan State - notches second career NCAA Tournament triple-double vs. Long Island University - Brooklyn on 3/16/2012
  • Brandon Paul, Illinois - scores 43 points, the most points by any Big Ten player in the 2012 season vs. Ohio State 1/10/2012
  • Samantha Prahalis, Ohio State - scores school-record 42 points vs. Minnesota on 2/23/2012

Best Finish

  • Christian Watford?s buzzer-beater leads Indiana over Kentucky on 12/10/2011
  • Michigan stuns Irish with Denard Robinson?s 16-yard touchdown pass to Roy Roundtree on 9/10/2011
  • Michigan State beats Wisconsin with Hail Mary touchdown pass on 10/22/2011
  • William Buford?s 20-foot shot wins Ohio State a Big Ten title on 3/4/2012

Men?s Team of the Year

  • Ohio State - Basketball
  • Penn State - Wrestling
  • Wisconsin - Football
  • Wisconsin - Cross-country

Women?s Team of the Year

  • Illinois - Volleyball
  • Minnesota - Ice hockey
  • Northwestern - Lacrosse
  • Penn State - Basketball

Game of the Year

  • Notre Dame vs Michigan, Football, 9/10/2011
  • Wisconsin vs Michigan State, Football, 10/22/2011
  • Wisconsin vs Michigan State, Football, 12/4/2011
  • Kentucky vs Indiana, Basketball, 12/10/2011

About BTN: A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, BTN is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 800 events, all in HD, the 24/7 network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. Events include football, men?s and women?s basketball games; dozens of Big Ten Championship events; studio shows; coaches? shows; and classic games. The network televises and streams more Olympic sporting events and women?s sports than has ever been aired on any other network. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation?s finest universities. The groundbreaking Student U initiative provides real-world experience for students interested in careers in sports television. The network is available to more than 80 million homes across the United States and Canada, and currently has agreements with more than 300 affiliates, including AT&T U-Verse, Atlantic Broadband, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV, DISH Network, Insight, Mediacom, Rogers Cable (Canada), Shaw Cable and Shaw Direct (Canada), Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS. For updated information, go to www.BTN.com.