One male and one female graduate student from each member school who has excelled on and off the field during their collegiate career receives the Big Ten Medal of Honor. The award was founded in 1915 and was the first in intercollegiate sports to show support for the educational focus placed on athletics. It is the highest accolade a student competing in conference athletics can get in the Big Ten.
More than 1,300 individuals have received the Big Ten Medal of Honor throughout the course of the last century. These people have successfully applied what they learned in college to succeed in all spheres of life. The fourth hockey player to win this honor is Blankenburg.
