July 1, 2010
EVANSTON, Ill. -- With one month to go in the Big Ten Icons "Bobblethon" competition, Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald needs fan votes to move up in the standings and attempt to win $10,000 in scholarships for the Northwestern alumni association.
Fitzgerald, a two-time All-America linebacker for the Wildcats and fifth-year head coach of his alma mater, is Northwestern's representative in the contest that features one athletic icon from each of the Big Ten's 11 institutions. The Big Ten Icon bobblehead that receives the most clicks as of Saturday, July 31 will earn $10,000 in scholarships for the winning institution's alumni association. Fitz entered July in ninth place in fan voting.
Since March, Big Ten fans have been logging onto www.BigTenIcons.com and clicking on their favorite bobblehead. Fans can vote once a day through July 31. In addition to the scholarship fund award, fans also have a chance to win a trip for two to a Big Ten football game of their choice and other great prizes.
Beginning this fall, the Big Ten Network will celebrate the Big Ten Conference's greatest athletes with its most ambitious project in its three-year history: a multi-platform event whose centerpiece is a new 20-episode series, Big Ten Icons, hosted by legendary college sports broadcaster Keith Jackson.
The show debuts Sept. 18 following a Big Ten Network football telecast in which Icon No. 20 will be revealed. The countdown continues every Tuesday night through the end of football season and into the spring. The No. 1 Big Ten Icon will be revealed around the 2011 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament.
Prior to the show's on-air launch, Icons 50 through 21 will be revealed online daily beginning in early September at www.BigTenIcons.com and www.facebook.com/BigTenIcons. The website will include a text and video feature on each Icon.
ABOUT THE BIG TEN NETWORK: The Big Ten Network is available in approximately 75 million homes in the United States and Canada, including 19 of the top U.S. 20 markets. Available on more than 300 cable, telco and satellite providers, the network is available on cable in 46 states.
The Big Ten Network is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With approximately 350 live events, and nearly all of them in HD, the network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. The network operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, showcasing a wide array of classic-to-current sports and televising more Olympic sporting events and women's sports than has ever been aired on any other network. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation's finest universities. Each year, the network offers between 35 and 40 football games, 105 regular season men's basketball games; 55 women's basketball games; dozens of Big Ten Championship events; studio shows; coaches' shows; and classic games.
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