July 16, 2002

PARK RIDGE, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference annually presents the largest and most exciting preseason celebration of college football of its kind and this summer's event promises much of the same when ABC Sports' Brent Musburger returns to Chicago to host the 31st-annual Big Ten Conference Kickoff Luncheon on July 26. This year's luncheon will be held at McCormick Place beginning at 10 a.m. with the annual player and coach autograph and photo session.

A preeminent voice of college football and college basketball play-by-play, Musburger also hosted the 1991 Pan American Games from Cuba. He served as the pre-game and half-time host on ABC Sports' coverage of Super Bowl XXV, marking the 16th time he had participated in the coverage of the nation's most popular sports spectacular. He covered the World Track & Field Championships and U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1995; and has served as host of ABC's golf telecasts.

While attending Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Musburger was lured away to the Chicago American, where he became an award-winning sportswriter. His broadcast career started when he joined WBBM Radio in Chicago in 1968 as Sports Director. He was later named Sports Director of WBBM-TV before moving to Los Angeles to co-anchor the nightly news for KNXT-TV.

Along with Musburger, each of the 11 Big Ten head football coaches and 22 of the Conference's top returning players will be featured at the Kickoff Luncheon. Among those players who will be featured are 15 standouts that earned All-Conference recognition a year ago, many of whom are preseason All-Americans and award candidates.

Among the players who will be in attendance are five first team selections from 2001, three who earned second team laurels and seven honorable mention picks. The five first team honorees include Illinois senior cornerback Eugene Wilson, Ohio State senior strong safety Mike Doss, Penn State senior defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy, Purdue junior free safety Stuart Schweigert and Wisconsin senior wide receiver Lee Evans.

Sophomore wide receiver Taylor Stubblefield also will represent Purdue.

The Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon annually draws some of the most interesting and talented names in college sports. The list of former kickoff luncheon attendees includes coaching legends like Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes along with each of the Big Ten's Heisman Trophy winners in the last 25 years: Archie Griffin, Desmond Howard, Eddie George, Charles Woodson and Ron Dayne. In all, over 500 of the Conference's finest players, more than 50 head coaches and 30,000 supporters have made the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon a yearly stop in their preseason college football schedule.

For Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon ticket information, visit the Conference web site at www.bigten.org, or call the Conference office at 847-696-1010.

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