Formerly known as the Watonga Award since its inception in 1951, the Charles Orsborn Award is the most-prestigious honor Bradley University bestows upon a graduating senior student-athlete and recognizes the ability of the winner to combine athletic and academic success with community service.

A letterwinner in four sports as a student-at    hlete (baseball, basketball, football and track and field), Orsborn helped put Bradley Athletics on the national map as a member of the Famous Five men's basketball teams that played in the first two National Invitation Tournaments in 1938 and 1939 and earned an invitation to the inaugural NCAA Tournament in 1939.  Signed by baseball's New York Yankees after graduation, he spent one year in the minor leagues before he was drafted into the military in 1941 during World War II.  Entering as a private, he eventually served five full years in the service, retiring with his years in the Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force.

Orsborn returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach for the Bradley Basketball program from 1947-56, a run that included NCAA Tournament runner-up finishes in 1950 and 1954.  He took over as the program's head coach from 1956-65, a nine-year stretch that produced a 194-56 (.776) record and three NIT championships (1957, 1960 and 1964).  He earned his first 100 victories in just 120 games, which is still tied for sixth in NCAA Division I history for the fewest number of games required to achieve 100 wins.  Inducted into both the NIT and Missouri Valley Conference Halls of Fame, Orsborn was selected the Bradley Basketball Coach of the Century during the program's 100-year celebration in 2002.  Following his coaching career, he served as the school's Director of Athletics from 1965-78.

Charles Orsborn Award Winners