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DALLAS – Baylor senior quarterback Bryce Petty (Chickasaw Nation) has been named the 2014 Seminole Tribe of Florida Bobby Bowden Award winner, it was announced Sunday by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
The award, which recognizes the Football Bowl Subdivision player who best epitomizes a student-athlete, was presented to Petty by the FCA at the College Championship breakfast at the Hyatt Regency Dallas. Indiana safety Mark Murphy and Mississippi defensive lineman D.T. Shackleford were the other two finalists. Candidacy is based on conduct as exemplary models in the classroom, on the field, on the campus and in the community.
“This is meaningful for me for two reasons,” Petty said, “first it’s an award about Christ, and to me that’s the ultimate prize anyway – when we talk about success, it needs to be credited to the One who has enabled us to have success.
“Second, the platform we have as football players is not to be taken for granted. Too often, players think it’s just about them and get too caught up in thinking that all have the same opportunity and that’s not true. We’ve been given a great opportunity – we need to keep it in perspective – it’s not just about wins on the field, it’s as much about off the field accomplishments.”
Petty, the 2013 Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award winner, was a finalist for four awards in 2014. In addition to the Bobby Bowden Award, he is currently a finalist for the Manning and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose awards and was a finalist for the Unitas Golden Arm. He was also named a semifinalist for the 2014 Maxwell, Walter Camp and Davey O’Brien awards.
“It comes as no surprise that Bryce is the recipient of an award such as this,” Baylor head coach Art Briles said. “Being around him day-in and day-out for the last five years I can say that I’m a better person. You look at, does your association with someone make you better? I can say that everyone Bryce comes in contact with is better. That’s due to his demeanor, his attitude and his faith.”
During his time at Baylor, Petty traveled to Kenya for a mission trip with Baylor student-athletes in May 2011, volunteered with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization and was part of BU’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes group.
In two seasons as the starter for the Bears, the Midlothian, Texas, product helped BU win back-to-back Big 12 Championships (the first QB in school history to win two conference titles), while producing a 22-4 record and a 16-2 mark in conference play. He led the Bears to the school’s first BCS bowl (Fiesta) and the first New Year’s Six contest (Cotton).
His Baylor career concluded at the 2015 Goodyear Cotton Bowl, where Petty threw for a career-high 550 passing yards, setting a Cotton Bowl record in the process, to be named the game’s offensive MVP. It was the third 500-yard passing game in program history. He extended his own school record with his 16th career 300-yard passing game, and tied Robert Griffin III for the school record with his fourth 400-yard passing game.
Petty closed his career No. 1 in the Baylor record books in TD-INT ratio (6.20), yards per attempt (9.71), interception percentage (.0118), total offense yards per play (8.223). He ranked second in passing yards (8,195), second in completion percentage (.627), second in total offense (8,528), second in touchdown responsibility (83), second in passing touchdowns (62), and ninth in rushing touchdowns (21).
He graduated in May 2013 with degree in health science studies and then earned a master’s degree in sports management in December 2014. Petty is the son of Todd and Dena Petty.
The award is named after former Florida State University head football coach Bobby Bowden. It was conceived by Vince Gibson, a former Bowden assistant at South Georgia College who went on to become head coach at Kansas State, Louisville and Tulane before he passed away in 2012 from Lou Gehrig’s disease; and Vernon Brinson, one of Bowden’s former players at South Georgia College in the 1950s. The Award is sponsored by The Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Bobby Bowden Award winners:
2003: Jason Wright, Northwestern University
2004: Billy Bajema, Oklahoma State University
2005: D. J. Shockley, University of Georgia
2006: Carl Pendleton, University of Oklahoma
2007: Jacob Tamme, University of Kentucky
2008: Stephen McGee, Texas A&M University
2009: Colt McCoy, University of Texas
2010: Christian Ponder, Florida State University
2011: Case Keenum, University of Houston
2012: Ashton Richardson, Auburn University
2013: Jake Matthews, Texas A&M University
2014: Bryce Petty, Baylor University
