April 6, 2009
Big Ten Network's "Friends of Jaclyn" Feature
CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Big Ten Network earned its first-ever Sports Emmy nomination this week in the Outstanding Sports Documentary category with the "Friends of Jaclyn" episode of Big Ten Short Stories, which originally aired July 10, 2008.
The documentary follows the emotional story of then 10-year-old Jaclyn Murphy, a lacrosse fan in upstate New York who was suffering from a brain tumor. In the following years, the Northwestern women's lacrosse team "adopted" Jaclyn and developed a close friendship with her. Since their introduction, Jaclyn has attended the Wildcats' four straight national championship title victories.
Inspired by the positive effect that the Wildcats have had on his daughter, Denis Murphy started the "Friends of Jaclyn" foundation that helps pair other children battling brain tumors with athletic teams at other universities throughout the country. Since its inception in 2007, 92 children have been "adopted" by teams at the high school and university level.
The program was produced in-house by Dan Lindberg and voiced by Ann Kreiter, under the supervision of senior feature producer Bill Friedman and executive producer Leon Schweir.
"It is a truly historic achievement for our young network and a phenomenal accomplishment for everyone involved in the production of this documentary," said Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman. "We're very proud to be mentioned in such select company."
The other nominees in the Outstanding Sports Documentary category are Breaking the Huddle: The Integration of College Football (HBO), Joe Louis:America's Hero Betrayed (HBO), Jose Canseco: Last Shot (A&E/The Trifecta Production Company) and The Streak (ESPN2).
The winner will be announced in New York on April 27.