Diene Named Big 12 Sportsman Of The Year

The Big 12 Conference announced in late May that Baylor center Mamadou Diene, a favorite around campus and one of the league's leading shot-blockers, was named the 2008 Big 12 Male Sportsperson of the Year for his work off the court.

Since arriving from Senegal, the seven-footer--nicknamed "The Mayor" for his friendly nature--has been an active participant in community service projects and has served on Baylor's Student-Athlete Advisory Council. The first member of his family to attend college, Diene does not own a car or cell phone so that he can send money home to help support his family (his parents died when he was a teenager).

Diene is the second Baylor student-athlete to win the award since it was started in 2000-01; women's basketball favorite Jessika Stratton, BA '04, was so honored in 2004.

Diene was also one of five to receive the 2008 Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award from the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics. The award honors "student-athletes who have overcome great personal, academic, and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in intercollegiate athletics."