DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake football team earned the Director's Award as Drake University's team of the year Monday night at the third-annual Intercollegiate Athletics Awards Ceremony at the Knapp Center.

The team finished 7-4 overall, including 6-2 for a third-place finish in the Pioneer Football League. Drake football will make its historic trip to Africa to compete in the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl on May 21.

The Howlett Award, presented to Drake's top male and female student-athletes, was presented to softball senior Jenna DeLong (Dalton Gardens, Idaho) and men's tennis senior Mauricio Ballivian (Santa Cruz, Bolivia). DeLong became Drake's all-time leader in strikeouts and just the second Bulldog pitcher to win 20 games in a season this year, while Ballivian earned his second-straight Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year accolade last week, becoming the only MVC performer to win the award in back-to-back seasons.

Men's basketball freshman Rayvonte Rice (Champaign, Ill.) and women's soccer freshman Megan Fisher (Ankeny, Iowa) earned Newcomer of the Year honors. Rice was named honorable mention All-Missouri Valley Conference, and earned first-team All-Newcomer and first-team All-Freshman honors this season. Fisher earned honorable mention All-MVC and was second on the team with 10 points.

Fifth-year football senior Andrew Asbell (Machesney Park, Ill.) was named Comeback Player of the Year and shared the Strength and Conditioning Award with women's basketball MVP Kristin Turk (Des Moines, Iowa). The award is presented to the student-athletes who maximized their efforts in strength and conditioning to perform at the highest level.