by Kevin Trahan (@k_trahan)
Lift for Life
Northwestern Uplifting Athletes will host its second annual Lift for Life barbecue this Friday at 6 p.m. on the football practice field next to Ryan Field. This year, proceeds from the barbecue will go to the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation to help find a cure for Niemann-Pick Type C (NP-C) disease.
The NU chapter of Uplifting Athletes was started last year, due in large part, PurpleWildcats.com's Chris Emma reports, by former Wildcat football players Al Netter and Jacob Schmidt.
"They were really great last year in setting it up and getting the ball rolling," NU chapter president and defensive tackle Brian Arnfelt told Purple Wildcats. "Our goal is to keep moving forward the Lift For Life and fundraising opportunity."
The disease is close to home for NU, as Parseghian was a coach for the Wildcats — he coached their last top-ranked team. Check out more about Parseghian and his organization in my article for The Daily Northwestern earlier this year. You can also learn more about NU Uplifting Athletes on their Facebook page.
Run for Walk
Northwestern will host its fifth annual "Run for Walk" on Sunday, July 29, in memory of late coach Randy Walker. There is a 5k family walk and a 4.1-mile run, commemorating the number (41) that Walker wore as a player at Miami (Ohio).
The cost to enter is $35 ($20 for NU students) and proceeds benefit the C.A.R.E. Animal Shelter. Click here for more information.
Big Ten Media Days
Big Ten Media Days — or "What do you think about Penn State" Days, as my friend Brendan Stiles of HawkeyeDrive.com put it — kick off on Thursday and will last through Friday afternoon. InsideNU will be there bringing you all the "action," with quotes from people from around the league.
There will be a coach and three players from each team in what figures to be a very eventful couple of days. Obviously the discussion will center around Penn State's sanctions, and it could be pretty intriguing, as PSU running back Silas Redd, who is reportedly considering transferring to USC, is scheduled to be in attendance.
Look for plenty of coverage and updates from InsideNU throughout the event and look for articles from media days in the coming week. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow us on Twitter at @insidenu and follow Kevin Trahan (@k_trahan) and Chris Johnson (@chrisdjohnsonn).