March 29, 2011

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Chicago's Big Ten football team is ramping up for a night of celebration at the annual Northwestern Gridiron Network (NGN) Auction, set for Saturday, April 16. The event gets underway at 5:30 p.m. and will take place in a Chicago skyline-transformed Welsh-Ryan Arena.

With Chicago-style food, music and auction items that range from luxury vacation spots to a trip to the NU-Army game in September, it promises to be another memorable evening for NGN members and guests of the program.

WGN sports director Dave Eanet and WGN analyst Ted Albrecht will headline the list of auctioneers, along with Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald. Last year, a number of former NU players who have gone on to the NFL added muscle to the bidding wars and several are expected to be in attendance once again in 2011.

The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with a silent auction, along with an open bar and buffet dinner. At 8:15 p.m., the live auction gets underway. Tickets are $125, which includes dinner and all beverages. Last year's event raised over $115,000 for the NGN, which uses those funds to help better Northwestern's rising football program. Some of the funds raised from previous auctions have gone toward refurbishing coaches' offices, buying state-of-the-art video software and cameras, creating a players' lounge in the football locker room, etc.

For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact Jean Yale at 847-491-3694 or email at j-yale@northwestern.edu.