In 1977, directly after the death of O'Brien, the award was established as the Davey O'Brien Memorial Trophy, and was given to the most outstanding player in the now-defunct Southwest Conference. Earl Campbell won the trophy in 1977, Billy Sims in 1978, and Mike Singletary won it twice in 1979 and 1980. In 1980, it was renamed to the Davey O'Brien Award, and from 1981 onwards it has been awarded to the nation's top quarterback annually. The only people to have won the award twice are Danny Wuerffel of Florida, Ty Detmer of Brigham Young, and Jason White of Oklahoma.