To live big is to find a cause that you’re passionate about and to do something about it. Like Purdue’s Timothy Spano and Northwestern’s Laura Venn, who were both honored during their school’s men’s basketball games Wednesday night. Watch the video of Spano receiving his $1,000 scholarship now and see Venn’s in this post.

To live big is to find a cause that you’re passionate about & to do something about it. After over 80,000 responses, we are proud to announce the 12 winners of the BTN LiveBIG Scholarship for Outstanding Service. Congratulations to our winners and finalists. Watch this video to see the names of the 12 winners of the scholarships. And then read their stories to see how they act, serve and inspire in the Big Ten over on www.BTNLiveBig.com.

There is a Big Ten student who volunteers in a local hospital’s oncology unit. There is another raising money for multiple sclerosis research. There are mentors, organizers and others making an impact. Now, BTN presents five student finalists from each Big Ten school who are eligible to receive the BTN LiveBIG $1,000 Scholarship for Outstanding Service recognizing students who are give back to their communities. Fan voting determines the winners. How? Keep reading.

Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET on this week’s BTN LiveBIG with Dhani Jones, we profile former Badger lineman Jake Wood, who joined the Marines after graduating from Wisconsin in 2005. He would serve two tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan throughout his four-year commitment to the U.S. armed services. In 2010 Wood founded Team Rubicon, a unique disaster relief organization made up of military veterans and medical professionals that drop into disaster zones.

CHICAGO – The network is launching BTN LiveBIG, a new series designed to celebrate, promote and encourage community service. The show will profile alumni, students and supporters who are “living big” through their service to others and will be hosted by former Michigan football standout, Dhani Jones. The show will have a special debut at 4:30 PM ET Saturday, and air at its regularly scheduled time of 7:30 PM ET on Monday.

Dhani Jones, a former standout at Michigan and in the NFL, hosts our new show BTN LiveBIG, and the first show airs on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET. We look how current and former members of the Big Ten conference influence their communities and the world by living and giving big. In the first episode, we profile Nancy Brinker, Illinois Class of 1968 and founder of the Susan G Komen for the Cure Organization

As part of BTN LiveBIG, BTN also will grant a $1,000 BTN Scholarship for Outstanding Service to a student from each Big Ten university.  To be eligible, students must be enrolled full-time at a Big Ten school and volunteer a minimum of 10 hours before Dec. 9. The network will select five finalists from each school and ask Big Ten fans to vote online for the most inspiring story. Full scholarship rules and more information on how to apply can be found at www.BTNLiveBIG.com.

When Elissa Clapp was a first year teacher for Teach for America, she took the lessons she learned playing varsity tennis for the Northwestern Wildcats and used them to guide her students to success. Watch now and learn more about Elissa’s work to recruit and empower new groups of teachers to take on education reform starting in the classroom.