Sugar Bowl

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has recognized the top male and female amateur athletes from the Greater New Orleans area since 1978 – candidates must either play for a team that is based in the Greater New Orleans area or must be a native of the New Orleans area competing elsewhere. The honor is selected by the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, which has been existence since 1957. All of the Sugar Bowl annual awards were presented on a calendar-year basis until 2009 when the Committee changed to an academic calendar (July-June). The annual awards banquet is typically held in late July or early August. Records from 1991-98 are not available.
 

Tyjae Spears, the star running back for the Tulane football team, was selected as the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Outstanding Male Amateur Athlete of the Year from the New Orleans area for 2022-23. Spears helped lead Tulane’s football team to its magical 2022 season that resulted in its first AAC championship, a thrilling 46-45 victory over USC in the Cotton Bowl, and the No. 9 final ranking in the AP Poll. The Green Wave set an FBS record with a 10-game win improvement in one season. Spears led the team and placed second in the conference with 1,581 rushing yards. His rushing yards were the second-most in a single season in school history as were his 19 rushing touchdowns. Spears’ 19 rushing touchdowns led the conference and ranked third nationally. His school-record average of 6.9 yards per carry ranked second in the conference and fifth in the nation. He topped 100 yards in rushing nine times including the final eight games of the campaign. He was honored as the AAC Offensive Player of the Year and was named the Cotton Bowl’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player after running for 205 yards and four TDs.