Tab Bamford, May 13, 2014
A sea of students proudly displaying the colors of 14 universities spent a gorgeous spring day playing with mentors and learning about the Big Ten community in Chicago.
On Saturday, May 10, approximately 400 students from 14 schools took part in the annual Chicago Youth Sports Alliance (YSA) Field Day, with more than 200 alumni representing each current Big Ten university spending their Saturday playing with the students; volunteers from other universities represented Rutgers and Maryland this year. Each university's alumni had t-shirts in their school colors, and were aligned with a group of students who also received t-shirts representing a Big Ten university.
Four current football players at Northwestern were also in attendance, leading the group in stretches and then participating in the field events with students. The students also heard from Zeke Markhausen, a Northwestern graduate who spent a few years in the NFL. Eric and Megan Kieras, both of whom are Michigan alumni, organized the event at Humboldt Park in Chicago.
Each year, YSA offers unique opportunities to students from more than 20 schools all over Chicago. YSA provides exposure to local college campuses and alumni throughout the school year, and the Field Day event serves as the culmination of an exciting year. Promoting fitness and physical activity are central to YSA's work with students, and the group relies 100 percent on volunteer contributions.
BTN LiveBIG was at the Field Day event, and we'll have exclusive video content in the coming weeks. Below are some photos from the event this weekend.
