Quarterback Tim Tebow has been named the SEC Male Athlete of the Year, voted on by the league's athletic directors. He was honored along with former Tennessee basketball player Candace Parker as the league's Female Athlete of the Year.

As the only sophomore to ever win the Heisman Trophy, Tebow has thrown for 3,644 yards and 37 touchdowns in his two seasons as a Gator.  He has rushed for 1,364 yards with 31 touchdowns, both school records by a Florida quarterback.

An All-SEC first-team selection by both the league’s coaches and the Associated Press, Tebow also became the first quarterback in college football history to pass for 20 and rush for 20 touchdowns.

Also this season, he earned a spot on ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-American First-Team squad, the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll and the SEC Community Service Team.

The other male nominees were: Michael Thompson, Alabama (golf); Darren McFadden, Arkansas (football); : Cesar Cielo, Auburn swimming); Gordon Beckham, Georgia (baseball); Rashaud Scott, Kentucky (track & field); Glenn Dorsey, LSU (football); Erling Tveit, Ole Miss (tennis); Jamil Hubbard, Mississippi State (track & field); Jason Richardson, South Carolina (track & field); Chris Lofton, Tennessee (basketball); Shan Foster, Vanderbilt (basketball).