Former Indiana football linebacker Thomas Allen and women’s basketball guard Ali Patberg were tabbed by the Big Ten Conference as Indiana’s honorees for the Outstanding Sportsmanship Award for the 2021-22 academic year, IU and the Big Ten announced in a release on Tuesday.
Allen appeared in eight games during the 2021 season before suffering a season-ending injury. He was named the program’s Ted Verlihay “Mental Attitude” Award. Over his four seasons, he appeared in 32 games with 56 career tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. He made an immediate impact with 28 stops, 3.0 tackles for loss and one sack during his redshirt freshman season. He added an interception that season, as well.
The Tampa, Florida, native was a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar accolades during his junior season. He was the Hoosiers Sportsmanship Award honoree as a senior.
Patberg wrapped up her career at IU as a four-time All-Big Ten honoree in 2021-22 as she led Indiana to back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances and three NCAA Tournaments. She finished ninth in all-time scoring at IU with 1,752 points, third in assists (527) and a career average of 14.2 points per game which ranked eight. She was a two-time Nancy Lieberman Award finalist and WBCA All-American honorable mention. Patberg was drafted 33rd overall in the 2022 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever.
In her final season in 2021-22, Patberg native averaged 11.6 points, 3.4 assists, 3.2 rebounds and shot 42.6 percent from the floor. She was one of three players all-time to earn four All-Big Ten honors in her Indiana career and started in 123 career games.
The Columbus, Indiana, native also excelled in the classroom where she was a 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-American, four-time All-Big Ten selection and is a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. She holds a pair of degrees from Indiana, a bachelor’s degree in finance from IU’s Kelley School of Business in May 2022 and a master’s degree in recreational administration in May 2022.
Allen is now with the Indiana football program as a graduate assistant, while Patberg is the director of recruiting for the IU women’s basketball team.
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