Aurora High School alum and current Indiana University wrestler Tyler Lillard is one of the Big Ten’s two Jackie Robinson Community & Impact Award winners for 2026.
The award, established in 2025, is a major recognition of a student-athlete who has a positive impact both in their chosen sport and in the community.
Lillard, who was surprised with the award March 3, was beaming even more than usual as he held the trophy, which shows Robinson in his baseball uniform. Lillard also proudly wore a jacket with Robinson’s initials and his own name in Hoosiers trim. Lillard said the award was one of the highest honors he has ever received.
“I think it’s important to celebrate what I do off the mat and how I impact people, because even though wrestling is great, it’s nothing without having fun or without having that community having your back,” Lillard said. “So it’s probably the biggest award I’ve received and I’m just grateful that they even nominated me for it.”
Lillard’s extensive off-the-mat work includes his Team Tyler Epilepsy Foundation. It’s a deeply personal cause as Lillard, when he was in the third grade, spent months in the hospital and traveling to doctor’s offices around the country after a series of convulsions and seizures. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor known as a glioma along with epilepsy.
Lillard hasn’t forgotten what he overcame en route to becoming a state champion and Big Ten wrestler. Far from it, Lillard, through his foundation, delivers school supplies to Riley Children’s Health and helps out families of patients in any number of ways, including assisting them with the parking fees that rack up during hospital stays.
Lillard also is active in Read Across America, through which he reads to local elementary and middle school students, and Recess Buddies, through which he provides mentorship to students. He’s also highly active in his church — the City Church for All Nations in Bloomington.
“Obviously, my work’s not done,” Lillard said. “I plan to make a bigger impact in my community in every way possible.”
Each of the 18 Big Ten institutions nominated one male and one female athlete for the award. Of those 36 nominees, the Big Ten selected two national winners. In the first year of the award, Maryland football player Dillan Fontus and Iowa wrestler Nanea Estrella were the winners last year.
Lillard finished his Aurora High School career with a 129-15 record, capped by a Division II state title at 165 pounds in 2022.
Two years later, Lillard had a breakout year for Indiana University, going 22-9 with wins over eight ranked opponents. He went 4-2 at the Big Ten Championships and qualified for the NCAA Championships. He also qualified for the NCAA Championships last year as a redshirt sophomore.
He’s currently 11-6 in his redshirt junior season and is preparing to compete at the Big Ten Championships. He’s also hoping to land a third straight NCAA appearance, which would bring him back home this year with the national tournament being held in Cleveland.
“That would be a dream,” Lillard said. “It would be a blessing to even be on that stage. I think it’s obviously a blessing to qualify for nationals, but to do it in front of friends and family and the people that I love and the people that I grew up around, like that’s a good dream come true, so I hope and pray that I get to do that.”
Contact Jonah L. Rosenblum at jrosenblum@recordpub.com and follow him on Twitter at @JLRSports.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Aurora alum Tyler Lillard wins Jackie Robinson Award. Here’s why
Reporting by Jonah Rosenblum, Ravenna Record-Courier / Record-Courier
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
