Big Ten Icons Countdown Continues With Brees, Spielman – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
CHICAGO – The Big Ten Network has named Purdue’s Drew Brees and Ohio State’s Chris Spielman as Big Ten Icons numbers 48 and 47, respectively. Big Ten Icons, the network’s most ambitious multi-platform initiative to date, is counting down the top 50 student-athletes in Big Ten history on www.BigTenIcons.com based solely on their collegiate playing careers.
Brees, who played quarterback at Purdue from 1997-2000, etched his name in the Purdue and Big Ten record books in nearly every conceivable fashion. He finished his collegiate career with the most passing yards (11,792), touchdown passes (90), total offensive yards (12,693), completions (1,026) and attempts (1,678) of any quarterback in Big Ten history. The native of Austin, Texas, won the Maxwell Award in 2000 as the nation’s most outstanding player. In an essay for www.BigTenIcons.com, former Chicago Tribune sports editor Dan McGrath writes, “He not only rewrote the record book at a school that’s renowned for prolific passers, he presided over one of the most successful eras in Purdue history.” To read the entire essay and watch a video feature on Brees, visit his Big Ten Icons locker at www.BigTenIcons.com.
Spielman, a two-time All-American linebacker at Ohio State from 1984-87, remains one of the most beloved Buckeyes of all-time for the way the he carried himself off the field and his dominating play on the field. As a junior, the Massillon, Ohio, native, made 29 tackles against Michigan. He became a Cotton Bowl MVP and was selected as the 1987 Lombardi Trophy winner as the nation’s best lineman or linebacker. In an essay for www.BigTenIcons.com, McGrath writes, “Spielman distinguished himself as one of the all-time great linebackers at a school that churns them out like the Buckeye leaves that decorate OSU helmets.” To read the entire essay and watch a video feature on Spielman, visit his Big Ten Icons locker at www.BigTenIcons.com.
Icons 50 through 21 are being unveiled through Sept. 16 at www.BigTenIcons.com. The website also will feature essays, video and other key facts about each student-athletes’ career. Viewers can also participate in the “Talk of the Locker Room” contest with a chance to win the $10,000 grand prize. Weekly winners will take home a 55-inch Phillips HD television.
The television show, hosted by legendary college sports broadcaster Keith Jackson, debuts Sept. 18 following a Big Ten Network football telecast in which Icon No. 20 will be revealed. The countdown continues at 9 PM ET 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.
BIG TEN ICONS COUNTDOWN:
No. 50 Tom Brands, Iowa wrestling (1989-92)
No. 49 Megan Hodge, Penn State women’s volleyball (2006-09)
No. 48 Drew Brees, Purdue football (1997-2000)
No. 47 Chris Spielman, Ohio State football (1984-87)
No. 46 To Be Announced Sept. 4
No. 45 To Be Announced Sept. 4
No. 44 To Be Announced Sept. 5
No. 43 To Be Announced Sept. 5
No. 42 To Be Announced Sept. 6
No. 41 To Be Announced Sept. 6
No. 40 To Be Announced Sept. 7
No. 39 To Be Announced Sept. 7
No. 38 To Be Announced Sept. 8
No. 37 To Be Announced Sept. 8
No. 36 To Be Announced Sept. 9
No. 35 To Be Announced Sept. 9
No. 34 To Be Announced Sept. 10
No. 33 To Be Announced Sept. 10
No. 32 To Be Announced Sept. 11
No. 31 To Be Announced Sept. 11
No. 30 To Be Announced Sept. 12
No. 29 To Be Announced Sept. 12
No. 28 To Be Announced Sept. 13
No. 27 To Be Announced Sept. 13
No. 26 To Be Announced Sept. 14
No. 25 To Be Announced Sept. 14
No. 24 To Be Announced Sept. 15
No. 23 To Be Announced Sept. 15
No. 22 To Be Announced Sept. 16
No. 21 To Be Announced Sept. 16
No. 20 Announced Sept. 18 on the television season premiere of Big Ten Icons
