Football 101 raises $50,000 to fight breast cancer

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, right, presents UNMC Eppley Cancer Center Director Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., left, a check during Tuesday’s Football 101 event.

Football 101 participants take part in drills in the Hawks Championship Center.

Nebraska Quarterback Cody Green, second from right, addresses the Football 101 as defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, right, listens on and quarterback Zac Lee, far left, diagrams a play for a fan.

LINCOLN — A capacity crowd of nearly 1,000 Husker fans helped raise $50,000 to fight breast cancer during Tuesday’s Football 101 event.

Football 101 was held at the University of Nebraska’s athletic facilities. Half of the funds raised went to the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center, while the other half was donated to the Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center Foundation.

During the event, fans heard from:

• Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne,
  
• Head Football Coach Bo Pelini,
  
• Director of Football Operations Jeff Jamrog,
  
• The Husker Sports Network’s Greg Sharpe,
  
• Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center; and
  
• Dr. Nate Green of the Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center.

“We are very grateful for the efforts of coach Pelini and the NU athletic department to help us fight breast cancer,” Dr. Cowan said. “As always, this event was a blast and an excellent way to support a very important cause.”

The day featured a mock game film review with Pelini and members of the current Nebraska defense, and a question-and-answer time with several current Huskers.

Fans learned the basics of the Husker offense and defense in talks with offensive coordinator Shawn Watson and defensive coordinator Carl Pelini. They were treated to hands-on training on the Hawks Field with several assistant coaches, where they went through offense, defense and special teams drills before they came together to run a few actual plays.

More about Football 101 Football 101 was presented by the Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center and the Bo Pelini Foundation.

They also got a behind-the-scenes look at the Nebraska support staff’s duties in sessions with the team’s strength and conditioning, academic, equipment management and athletic medicine personnel.

At the end of the day, attendees made the famed “Tunnel Walk” from the Osborne Athletic Complex into Memorial Stadium. There, the football staff recognized all breast cancer survivors in attendance and Bo Pelini addressed the participants to the close the event before he joined the cancer survivors in a private reception.

“We had a really good turnout, talked a lot of football, answered a lot of questions, and had a great time today,” Pelini said. “We appreciate the Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center and the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center for their work in the fight, and our sponsors and all our fans for coming out today for a great cause and helping make it all possible.”