Jim McMahon to speak at University of St. Francis banquet
From Submitted Reports September 13, 2012 11:10PM
Jim McMahon
Updated: October 15, 2012 9:15AM
The University of St. Francis Brown & Gold Night has a history of attracting some of the biggest names in sports as the featured speakers. For the 36th annual athletic fundraiser scheduled Oct. 18 at the Patrick J. Sullivan Recreation Center, former Bears quarterback Jim McMahon will be at the podium.
McMahon, the quarterback and controversial personality who led the Bears to the Super Bowl XX title, follows Chicago sports figures such as the Blackhawks’ Denis Savard (2011), Cubs’ Fergie Jenkins (’08) and Bears’ Mike Ditka (1982, 2007) and Dick Butkus (1980).
Other notable speakers at past events were longtime Marquette University basketball coach and network television analyst Al McGuire (1977, ’87), basketball coaching legend John Wooden (1978), two-time Super Bowl MVP Bart Starr (1994), former DePaul coaching legend Ray Meyer (1979), college baseball’s all-time winningest coach and USF’s own Gordie Gillespie (1996).
The cover story in last week’s Sports Illustrated entitled “The Women Behind The Retired NFL Men Who Suffer From Brain Trauma” features three former NFL stars, among them McMahon.
McMahon, who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., regularly participates in charity golf events. He is an ambassador to St. Jude Children’s Hospital and The Wounded Warrior Project. He also started a nonprofit for literacy, The Lynda McMahon Memorial Foundation for Literacy, in memory of his late sister.
The Brown & Gold begins with a cash bar at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the program at 7:30 p.m. Tickets at $50 per person and reserved tables for $500 can be purchased by calling (815) 740-3842.
