Rettke named Big Ten Athlete of the Year

MADISON, Wis. — It's an honor not seen at the University of Wisconsin in 23 years for a female student-athlete. On Thursday, the Big Ten Conference named Dana Rettke, a middle blocker for Wisconsin volleyball, as the conference's Female Athlete of the Year.

Selected as Wisconsin's Athlete of the Year along with fellow Badger Jonathan Taylor (football) earlier this week, Rettke was further selected by the conference overall for her outstanding athletic performance this past year after leading the Badgers to both the Big Ten title and playing in the NCAA championship match.

"It is such an honor to be named Big Ten Athlete of the Year," Rettke said. "Having the opportunity to play in this conference every day is something I will never take for granted. The competition is top notch, and there are so many amazing players, coaches and staff that make me a better athlete and person every day. Thank you to my teammates and coaches at Wisconsin for everything they have done. I truly cannot do anything without them. On, Wisconsin!"

Dana Rettke attacks the ball against two Marquette blockers.

Wisconsin's last recipient of the Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year was Ron Dayne (football) in 2000, while the Badgers' last female honoree was Kathy Butler (cross country and track and field) in 1997. In total, Badgers have won the honor seven times overall (once for men, six for women) with five individuals claiming the honor. See the full list below.

Additionally, Rettke is the first Big Ten volleyball student-athlete to win this honor since 2010 and only the fifth all-time.

The Big Ten has recognized a Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year since 1982 and first honored a Female Athlete of the Year in 1983. The Big Ten Athletes of the Year are selected by a panel of conference media members, with one male and one female student-athlete nominated from each Big Ten institution to be considered for the honor.

"I'm thrilled for Dana. She was certainly a key figure in our volleyball program's run to not only the Big Ten title, but to the NCAA Championship match," said Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin director of athletics "She has been a great representative of our entire university, on the court and in the classroom. I am proud of her and very happy she's being recognized as the conference's athlete of the year."

One of the country's best middle blockers, Rettke, a UW junior, helped lead the Badgers to the 2019 NCAA National Championship match and earned her third-consecutive selection as a first-team All-American (2017, 2018, 2019). The 2019 Big Ten Player of the Year, Rettke was also selected to both the 2019 NCAA Championship All-Tournament team and 2019 NCAA Regional All-Tournament team.

"There are a lot of big-time athletes in this conference. For Dana to earn this honor is quite impressive, especially considering it's been 20 years since the last Badger has achieved it," head volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield said.

An All-Big Ten selection, Rettke played and started all 32 matches and played in 110 sets. She led the Big Ten with 1.45 blocks per set, in addition to leading the Badgers and ranking third in the Big Ten with a .390 hitting percentage. She also led UW and ranked fifth in the conference with 3.75 kills per set, setting a single-season school record. Rettke recorded double-figure kills in 26 matches.

Rettke competed with the U.S. National Team during the summer of 2019, winning the Volleyball Nations League and qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She was a finalist for both the 2020 AAU James E. Sullivan Award and a 2019 Honda Award.

WE KNOW HER by Wisconsin Volleyball

Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year Award Winners

(Wisconsin recipients highlighted)

1983 - Judi Brown, Michigan State, track and field
1984 - Lisa Ishikawa, Northwestern, softball
1985 - Cathy Branta, Wisconsin, cross country/track
1986 - Stephanie Herbst, Wisconsin, cross country/track
1987 - Jennifer Averill, Northwestern, field hockey/lacrosse
1988 - Suzy Favor, Wisconsin, track and field/cross country
1989 - Suzy Favor, Wisconsin, track and field/cross country
1990 - Suzy Favor, Wisconsin, track and field/cross country
1991 - Julie Farrell-Ovenhouse, Michigan State, diving AND Joy Holmes, Purdue, basketball
1992 - MaChelle Joseph, Purdue, basketball
1993 - Lara Hooiveld, Michigan, swimming
1994 - Kristy Gleason, Iowa, field hockey
1995 - Laura Davis, Ohio State, volleyball
1996 - Olga Kalinovskaya, Penn State, fencing
1997 - Kathy Butler, Wisconsin, track and field AND Gretchen Hegener, Minnesota, swimming
1998 - Sara Griffin, Michigan, softball
1999 - Stephanie White-McCarty, Purdue, basketball
2000 - Lauren Cacciamani, Penn State, volleyball
2001 - Katie Douglas, Purdue, basketball
2002 - Christie Welsh, Penn State, soccer
2003 - Perdita Felicien, Illinois, track and field
2004 - Kelly Mazzante, Penn State, basketball
2005 - Jennie Ritter, Michigan, softball
2006 - Tiffany Weimer, Penn State, soccer
2007 - Jessica Davenport, Ohio State, basketball
2008 - Hannah Nielsen, Northwestern, lacrosse
2009 - Maria Hernandez, Purdue, golf
2010 - Megan Hodge, Penn State, volleyball
2011 - Shannon Smith, Northwestern, lacrosse
2012 - Christina Manning, Ohio State, track and field
2013 - Amanda Kessel, Minnesota, ice hockey
2014 - Dani Bunch, Purdue, track and field
2015 - Taylor Cummings, Maryland, lacrosse
2016 - Rachel Banham, Minnesota, basketball
2017 - Lilly King, Indiana, swimming
2018 - Lilly King, Indiana, swimming
2019 - Megan Gustafson, Iowa, basketball
2020 – Dana Rettke, Wisconsin, volleyball

Big Ten Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year Award Winners

(Wisconsin recipients highlighted)

1982 - Jim Spivey, Indiana, track and field/cross country
1983 - Ed Banach, Iowa, wrestling
1984 - Sunder Nix, Indiana, track and field
1985 - Barry Davis, Iowa, wrestling
1986 - Chuck Long, Iowa, football
1987 - Steve Alford, Indiana, basketball
1988 - Jim Abbott, Michigan, baseball
1989 - Glen Rice, Michigan, basketball
1990 - Anthony Thompson, Indiana, football
1991 - Mike Barrowman, Michigan, swimming
1992 - Desmond Howard, Michigan, football
1993 - John Roethlisberger, Minnesota, gymnastics
1994 - Glenn Robinson, Purdue, basketball
1995 - Tom Dolan, Michigan, swimming
1996 - Eddie George, Ohio State, football
1997 - Blaine Wilson, Ohio State, gymnastics
1998 - Charles Woodson, Michigan, football
1999 - Luke Donald, Northwestern, golf
2000 - Ron Dayne, Wisconsin, football
2001 - Ryan Miller, Michigan State, ice hockey
2002 - Jordan Leopold, Minnesota, ice hockey
2003 - Amer Delic, Illinois, tennis AND Matt Lackey, Illinois, wrestling
2004 - Damion Hahn, Minnesota, wrestling
2005 - Luis Vargas, Penn State, gymnastics
2006 - Peter Vanderkaay, Michigan, swimming
2007 - Cole Konrad, Minnesota, wrestling
2008 - Brent Metcalf, Iowa, wrestling
2009 - Jake Herbert, Northwestern, wrestling
2010 - Evan Turner, Ohio State, basketball
2011 - David Boudia, Purdue, diving
2012 - Draymond Green, Michigan State, basketball
2013 - Derek Drouin, Indiana, track and field
2014 - David Taylor, Penn State, wrestling
2015 - Logan Stieber, Ohio State, wrestling
2016 - Denzel Valentine, Michigan State, basketball
2017 - Kyle Snyder, Ohio State, wrestling
2018 - Kyle Snyder, Ohio State, wrestling
2019 - Bo Nickal, Penn State, wrestling
2020 – Chase Young, Ohio State, football

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