Dec. 22, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern senior football players Brett Basanez (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator) and Tim McGarigle (Chicago, Ill./Saint Patrick) will be competing in January all-star games. Both players will compete at the East-West Shrine Game (for the East squad) in San Antonio, Texas on January 21. University of Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt will coach the East team.
Basanez led the Wildcats to a 7-4 regular-season finish while leading the Big Ten Conference in total offense. He finished fifth in the nation with 3,597 yards. Basanez was a Unitas Award finalist, named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and earned Big Ten Conference first-team honors.
McGarigle, a Butkus and Bednarik Award semifinalist, became Northwestern's all-time leading tackler on Nov. 5 vs. Iowa. He closed the regular season with 528 career hits, 25 more than second-place Chuck Kern. He totaled two 20-or-more tackle efforts during the year. He ranks second in Big Ten tackles with 12.6 per game. Nationally, he ranks sixth in total tackles.
The East-West Shrine Game is the oldest collegiate all-star game in the country. The game is played to raise money and awareness for the 22 Shriner Hospitals, which provide orthopedic and burn care at no cost to children across the country. To date, the game has raised over $14 million and has treated over 750,000 children.
Basanez also will compete in the 2006 Las Vegas All-America Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. Teams have not been announced for the Jan. 14 game.