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Big Ten Football Legends and Award Winners to Attend Awards Gala and Inaugural Championship Game
Dec. 1, 2011 Park Ridge, Ill. – Twenty-five trophy namesakes or their family members will be presenters at the 2011 Big Ten Football Awards Gala, to be held Friday night in the Big Ten Fan Fest area of the Indiana Convention Center. These honored guests will present 17 trophies that are part of the Big Ten’s enhanced football awards program which makes its debut this season. Among the 25 presenters are 15 former Big Ten football players whose names appear on conference awards. This distinguished list is comprised of Illinois’ Dick Butkus, Indiana’s Antwaan Randle El and Anthony Thompson, Iowa’s Dallas Clark, Michigan State’s Morten Andersen, Minnesota’s Darrell Thompson, Nebraska’s Dave Rimington, Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald, Ohio State’s Eddie George, Penn State’s Courtney Brown and Ted Kwalick, Purdue’s Bob Griese and Wisconsin’s Jim Bakken, Ron Dayne and Pat Richter. The complete list of the night’s presenters and accompanying awards can be found on the following page. Nine of the Big Ten’s postseason award winners will also be in attendance. Indiana’s George Taliaferro (Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award), Iowa’s Marvin McNutt (Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year), Michigan’s Brady Hoke (Hayes-Schembechler and Dave McClain Coach of the Year) and David Molk (Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year), Nebraska’s Brett Maher (Bakken-Andersen Kicker and Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year), Northwestern’s Drake Dunsmore (Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year), Ohio State’s Archie Griffin (Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award) and Braxton Miller (Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year) and Penn State’s Devon Still (Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player and Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year) will all receive their trophies in person, while family members of Wisconsin’s Montee Ball (Graham-George Offensive Player and Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year) and Russell Wilson (Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year) will receive the awards on the players’ behalf. Representatives from Nebraska will accept the awards for Lavonte David (Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year) and Alfonzo Dennard (Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year), who are unable to attend as they are completing final exams. In addition, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, Indianapolis Colts Vice Chairman Bill Polian and College Football Hall of Fame Members Griffin of Ohio State and Thompson of Indiana will address the crowd. The Big Ten will also recognize the family of Amos Alonzo Stagg, whose name graces the conference’s Championship Trophy. The honorees, award winners, their guests and VIP Ticket Package holders in attendance at the gala will also be the first to experience Big Ten Fan Fest. Held at the Indiana Convention Center, Fan Fest will be open to the public from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturday. Fan Fest access is included with a game ticket, and Fan Fest tickets for fans not attending the game can be purchased at the door for $8 (adult) and $5 (children). The trophy namesakes or their family members will also be recognized on the field prior to Saturday’s inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game, while the award winners will be honored between the first and second quarters. For more information on the Big Ten’s enhanced awards program, including biographical information on the namesakes, visit www.bigten.org.
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