Eastern Michigan Athletics
EMU Football Plunges Into Icy Waters for Ford Lake Frozen Leap
2/17/2014 6:03:00 PM | Football, E-Gridiron Group
EMU football players and staff members braved the cold to raise $1,000 for charity
| Photo Gallery. | Video of the Jump. | More Information About the Event. |
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Eastern Michigan University Head Football Coach Chris Creighton has yet to coach a game for the Eagles, but he continues to endear himself to the Ypsilanti community. Over the weekend, Creighton, along with four staff members and seven student-athletes took part in the Sixth Annual Ford Lake Frozen Leap to help raise money for local charities.
With wind-chill temperatures in the teens it still did not discourage the more than 50 participants from jumping into Ford Lake. In total, the event brought in more than $15,000 which will be split between Growing Hope, Ele's Place and Dollars For Scholars.
A combined total of $77,000 has been raised by Pakmode Media + Marketing and Lake Shore Apartments during the course of the six years the event has been held.
The EMU football group, nicknamed the Soaking Eagles, featured Campbell Allison (Ogdensburg, N.Y.-Ogdensburg Free Academy), Mike Brown (Sandusky, Ohio-Sandusky), Gabriel Guilbee-Rodriguez (Paw Paw, Mich.-Paw Paw), Lincoln Hansen (Omaha, Neb.-Millard North), Alex Jones (Maple Heights, Ohio-Maple Heights), Pat O'Connor (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Rita) and Andrew Wylie (Midland, Mich.-Midland).
Representing the staff were Creighton, Assistant Coach Todd Frakes, Director of Sports Performance Ron McKeefery, Assistant Athletics Director/Sports Medicine Steve Nordwall and Assistant Coach Jimmy Williams.
"I'm a huge supporter of EMU Football so having the team come out and participate means a lot to me," said co-founder of the event Bilal Saeed. "I've gotten to watch Lincoln grow as a player and leader for this team so I was thrilled to see him take the leap for the second year while raising a significant amount of money in just under a week. Also, seeing Coach Creighton take the leap proved to me that he's the type of guy to lead by example. He not only thinks it is great for his team to get involved with the community, but he himself genuinely cares about making a long, lasting positive impact in our community."
It was a busy weekend for the Eagles, as members of the team also visited with veterans at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System as part of National Salute to Veterans Week.
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