Don Morris Memorial Award
The Don Morris Memorial Award is named after the late Alleman Catholic High School Athletic Director and coach. Coach Morris passed away in 1983. He was one of the founding fathers of the Western Big 6 Conference. Don Morris was a fixture in the local high school coaching ranks for 33 years, all at Rock Island Alleman. He compiled an overall record of 491-335 with four seasons of 20 or more wins. His 1963-64 team put on a late surge to advance to final four of the IHSA state tournament at a time when all schools competed in one class for the championship. Alleman gym is now named for him. He was standout athlete at St. Ambrose and Streator (Ill.) High School.
Mr. Morris, a native of Streator, IL, was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1975 as a coach and a player. He also has been selected to the Quad-City Sports Hall of Fame and the St. Ambrose University Hall of Fame.
The award that bears his name was created in his memory to honor student-athletes in the Western Big 6 Conference that excel in multiple sports, school and community activities.
Criteria for the Don Morris Memorial Award:
Nominees must be a senior
No athlete shall be nominated that does not have a minimum 2.5GPA on a 4.0 scale
Must be a multi-sport athlete
Awards earned in the school, community, conference and state will be considered when deciding the winners
Each conference school may nominate one (1) boy and one (1) girl with selections made by the principal and athletic director.
