One of the most prestigious conference awards in college athletics, the Big Ten Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had "attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work." The 14 institutions of the Big Ten feature over 10,000 student-athletes, more than any other conference, and only 28 of those individuals are recognized each year with the Big Ten Medal of Honor. In the nearly 100 years of the Medal of Honor, just over 1,300 student-athletes have earned this distinction. The medal features the Latin phrase Mens fervida in corpore lacertoso on one side and the student's name and the phrase For Scholarship and Athletic Prowess on the reverse side.

John Robert Wooden was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head coach for the UCLA Bruins, including a record seven in a row. No other team has won more than four in a row in Division I college men's or women's basketball. Within this period, his teams won an NCAA men's basketball record 88 consecutive games. Wooden won the prestigious Henry Iba Award as national coach of the year a record seven times and won the Associated Press award five times.