Dick Butkus To Attend UNO Hockey's Historic Weeken
Nov 4, 2010 | General, Hockey
I Play Clean Web Site
OMAHA, Neb. – NFL legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dick Butkus will be a special guest of the University of Nebraska at Omaha hockey team as it plays its first ever home games in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association against Minnesota State on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 5 and 6. Butkus will drop the puck to kick off the second game of the weekend on Saturday at 7:07 p.m.
Butkus is in Nebraska to promote the organization I Play Clean which is working to end steroid abuse among young athletes. He will be available for interviews with local media in the press box of the Qwest Center between the first and second periods.
“We are very grateful that someone of Dick Butkus' stature has agreed to be a part of this historic weekend for UNO hockey,” said #Trev Alberts#, UNO's Director of Athletics. “He is a great example of what can be accomplished through hard work and talent, and his work with I Play Clean demonstrates how to make a difference in the lives of young people.”
Butkus was a two-time All-American for Illinois and was a first round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 1965. An exceptional defensive player at middle linebacker, he played nine years in the NFL before a knee injury ended his career. He was an All-NFL selection six times and played in eight straight Pro Bowls. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility.
For 26 years, the Butkus Award has honored the nation's best collegiate linebacker, and the award was recently expanded to include high school and pro honors. UNO's Alberts won the collegiate award during his standout career at the University of Nebraska.
In the opening game of the weekend on Friday, the Mavericks will welcome several members of the campus community and the community at large who were a part of bringing UNO hockey to reality back in 1997. Among the honored guests will be Del Weber, Chancellor of UNO at the time; original hockey committee members Dr. Bill Singer, David Scott and Mitch Pirnie; members of UNO hockey's first graduating class Christian Graham, Jason Mitchell and Colin Strom; and many others, all of whom will appear on ice prior to Friday's 7:37 p.m. face off.
Tickets for both games are on sale at the Qwest Center box office, at Sapp Fieldhouse on the UNO campus and on-line at OmahasTeam.com.
