Imani McGee-Stafford (Texas) and Clark Lammert (Texas Tech) have been selected as the 2014-15 Big 12 Sportspersons of the Year, the Conference announced. McGee-Stafford was a junior on the UT women’s basketball team this past season while Lammert completed his career with the Red Raider men’s basketball squad.
The Sportsperson of the Year Awards began in 2000-01 to annually recognize student-athletes who displayed an extraordinary degree of sportsmanship, community service and academic achievement. This year’s winners were selected by a media panel.
McGee-Stafford refers to herself as a suicide survivor while those around her are more apt to use “definition of inspiration.” She has dealt with traumatic adversities throughout her life including molestation at a young age and multiple suicide attempts before finding solace and support on the basketball court and “her voice” through slam poetry. She shares her story and experiences through competitive slam poetry and volunteer work and hopes that her words and honesty can inspire other young women to overcome similar circumstances.
The Los Angeles-native was the winner of the 2015 Honda Inspiration Award, presented to the most inspiring women’s student-athlete in all levels of college athletics by Honda and the Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards. She will accept the honor during the live CBS Sports Network telecast of the 2015 Honda Cup on Monday, June 29 in her hometown.
McGee-Stafford was a member of the “They Speak Austin” poetry team that finished in the semifinals of the 2014 Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival in Philadelphia and serves as a team representative on Texas’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She also volunteers at the Austin State Hospital, a psychiatric hospital operated by the Texas Department of State Health Services, and participates in various team community service outreach efforts, including visits to Dell Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House.
The accounting major is a two-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree and plans to pursue a master’s degree in professional accounting. In addition to her academic accomplishments, she was also honored by conference coaches for her play on the court as an All-Big 12 First Team selection in 2014-15.
Lammert was a member of the Big 12 Conference Sportsmanship Working Group to study and reform sportsmanship throughout the league. During his four years on the Tech men’s basketball team, he was known for assisting a fallen teammate or opposing player off the court and congratulating and praising the other team, regardless of the outcome.
The San Antonio, Texas-native is the founder and program coordinator for the Red Raider Reach Program, a community service initiative that he started in 2015 to increase involvement at local children’s hospitals from Texas Tech sports teams. During the 2014-15 academic year alone, TTU student-athletes increased their community service by over 500 hours thanks in part to the Red Raider Reach Program. Lammert is a longtime member of the Texas Tech Student-Athlete Advisory Committee where he currently serves as the Director of Community Engagement. His involvement in community activities earned him a nomination to the All-State “Good Works Team” for the 2014-15 season. He was named the 2014-15 Texas Tech Athletics Good Citizen Award recipient as well as the Male Student-Athlete of the Year.
Lammert has been a regular on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll as well as the Texas Tech President’s and Dean’s Lists throughout his career. He was named to the 2014-15 Academic All-Big 12 First Team and recognized as the top graduating senior off the men’s basketball program. Lammert is currently working on his master’s degree in sports management with an expected graduation date in December. He has been chosen for a congressional internship in Washington D.C. this fall.