Nov. 18, 2015

2015 Victor E. Ball Student-Athlete Speeches

Northern Illinois University student-athletes told their personal stories of the impact their athletic scholarships and NIU have had on their lives at the inaugural Victor E. Ball fundraising event on November 7, 2015. Watch their speeches at the links below, or subscribe to niuhuskiesdotcom, the official YouTube channel of NIU Athletics.

Victor E. Ball Photo Gallery

Victor E. Ball Recap

Eight months ago, the idea to hold a premiere event that would raise funds to benefit Northern Illinois University student-athletes, was born. On Saturday night, November 7, the idea came to life as those many months of planning, meetings and hard work culminated in a spectacular evening, in a beautiful venue at the Pavilion at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois.

More than 200 guests joined NIU President Doug Baker, Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier, the Huskie head coaches and student-athletes representing every sports program at the black tie gala that benefitted -- and more importantly, celebrated -- Huskie student-athletes and the Northern Illinois University Athletics program.

The Victor E. Ball was the brainchild of NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier, who was searching for new revenue streams to enable the Huskies to remain competitive given new NCAA legislation that allowed universities to provide student-athletes with increased funds to cover expenses beyond the traditional athletic scholarship.

"Having support for the quality of experience for our student-athletes is job one," Frazier said. "This event was born based on need -- from cost of attendance to facilities to day-to-day operations, it's so important, so critical that we have the resources that are necessary to remain competitive."

The success of the inaugural Victor E. Ball can be attributed to many people, beginning with NIU benefactor Jerry Rich, the owner of Rich Harvest Farms, who offered the car museum inside the Pavilion as an elegant and completely unique site to hold the new event. His son, Keith Rich, and general manager, Jon Meagher, were instrumental in ensuring the operational success of the evening.

"I'm a 1961 NIU graduate, and in the last 50-some years, I've been deeply involved with the university," Jerry Rich said. "I enjoy all the initiatives they've put together over the years. I appreciate everybody coming out and having a good time. Hopefully we can raise a lot of money for the university and the athletic program."

Upon arrival at Rich Harvest Farms on the evening of the Victor E. Ball, guests enjoyed a cocktail hour in the atrium and fireplace rooms of the Pavilion, where the 80-plus items that had been made available through the silent auction were on display. For the first time, NIU Athletics used a mobile bidding service to begin the silent auction 10 days before the event. Through text messaging, fans who could not attend the sold-out evening were able to bid on and win the amazing items and experiences, which included trips with NIU teams, behind the scenes VIP experiences, tickets to local venues and events, Huskie signed memorabilia, and autographed items from Chicago professional sports teams, musicians and more.

With an ideal venue and the silent auction surpassing NIU's original revenue goals, the Huskies turned to another great supporter in Vito Brandonisio, owner of Acquaviva Winery, to provide the perfect meal. The menu of high end Italian fare set the stage for a powerful program that was seamlessly led by emcee Dave Kaplan of Comcast SportsNet Chicago and radio station ESPN 1000.

Kaplan, like featured speaker Tom Izzo, head basketball coach of the Michigan State Spartans and one of the most accomplished coaches in intercollegiate athletics, generously volunteered their time and talents to NIU for the Victor E. Ball. For Kaplan, the reasons were simple.

"Four of the best years of my life were on the staff of John McDougal, coaching basketball at NIU," he said. "I always loved my time [at NIU] and I always look back fondly. To be here for the university, for my friend Tom [Izzo], for Sean [Frazier], for everybody, it's quite an honor. To know that everyone is here for this great cause for a university I hold near and dear to my heart, it's really a cool night."

Izzo's tie to NIU runs directly through men's basketball coach Mark Montgomery, a long-time Izzo assistant who also played at MSU. When NIU began looking for a featured speaker to bring to the event, someone with a name who understood and could speak to intercollegiate athletics, Monty asked and Izzo answered.

"Being an inaugural event, I feel privileged to be here," Izzo said in his speech. "I always have time for my former players and my former staff members. When Monty called me about speaking tonight, I looked at what you guys have accomplished here. You're building something special here. You're like I was when I was growing up. You've done some extraordinary things."

The eight-time national coach of the year, who has taken his MSU teams to seven Final Fours, hit many themes that resonated with both donor and student-athletes, including the importance of giving, taking ownership in the program, his personal development as a donor and the value of dreaming big. He characterized the people he met around the NIU program as "elite" -- a word he defined for the audience.

"We have a saying," he said. "Great players play great, but elite players make other players play great. There are very few elite people. I'm proud and happy to say that your president here, your AD, your coaches, you're the elite people. You're giving other kids a chance. Getting to an elite level is what we're all trying to do."

A few minutes later, Izzo and all of the guests were introduced to a group of Huskie student-athletes striving to attain elite status themselves. A video featuring five student-athletes illustrated the passion each one has for NIU and their sport, and the appreciation they feel to have a scholarship to play at the Division I level. The video presentation preceded personal speeches from three student-athletes -- William Lee of football; Andrew Glaeser of men's soccer and Latesha Bigby of women's track and field. Each shared a personal story about the journey to NIU, the hardships they encountered and their successes. Their stories were revealing, inspiring and from the heart.

"This night really was about our student-athletes, and I am so glad that the guests were able to hear, first-hand, some of their stories," Frazier said. "Those very personal and heartfelt speeches really touched so many people and, to me, were a highlight of the evening."

An energetic live auction featuring celebrity auctioneer Chandler Harnish saw the former Huskie quarterback "work the room," as trips with the Huskie football and men's basketball team and private football camps for 10 conducted by Harnish himself were popular with attendees.

"I think when you see NIU continue to have success both academically and athletically, it creates such a sense of pride," Harnish said. "For everyone to come back and be involved and be engaged, helps the university as a whole and can help athletics moving on to the next level. It makes a better experience for everyone."

All told, the live and silent auction totals for the Victor E. Ball far surpassed the $50,000 goal set prior to the event, while the overall net for the inaugural event is expected to exceed $120,000.

"It was a special night in so many ways," Frazier said. "The generosity of the guests and donors, the stories of our student-athletes and the speech by Coach Izzo, were so impactful. Even more than that, I saw passion, dedication and teamwork; I'm energized. We have a tremendous group of people -- from staff to coaches to student-athletes to administration to donors - who truly care about and are working to move not just Huskie Athletics, but our entire university, forward."

-- NIU --

To help support NIU student-athletes today, call the Huskie Athletic Fund at 815-753-1923 or go online to HuskieAthleticFund.com.