July 23, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Big Ten Conference announced today the 14 former players that will be in attendance at the 2014 Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon presented by Allstate and BMW, one from each school. Recent College Football Hall of Fame inductee Dave Butz will represent Purdue. He is one of three College Football Hall of Famers who will be in attendance.
Butz played for head coach Bob DeMoss from 1970 to 1972 and is one of 15 Boilermakers (10 players and five coaches) to be chosen for the Hall of Fame. The 6-foot-7, 280-pound Butz was widely regarded as the best defensive end in the country. He was a consensus All-American as a senior and received the Zipp Award as college football's outstanding player. During his career, Butz recorded 108 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and eight pass breakups. He was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player of the Senior Bowl and also played in the East-West Shrine Game. Butz is enshrined in the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame, as well as the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.
Butz played 16 seasons in the NFL, after being selected fifth overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1973 NFL Draft. He played with the Cardinals in 1973-74, before going to Washington where he played with the Redskins from 1975 to 1988. He was named to the 1973 NFL All-Rookie team before Washington gave up two No. 1 draft picks and a No. 2 pick, in what is considered to be the largest compensation package in league history.
Considered an NFL ironman, Butz missed just four games in a career that consisted of 216 contests. He racked up 59.5 sacks for the Redskins, a number that still ranks third in franchise history, and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1983. Butz played in three Super Bowls with Washington: XVII (a 27-17 win over the Miami Dolphins), XVIII (a 38-9 loss to the Oakland Raiders) and XXII (a 42-10 win over the Denver Broncos). He is one of three Super Bowl winners who will be in attendance at the luncheon.
The group of former standouts will be available for autographs and a photo session prior to the 43rd annual event, which will be held on Tuesday, July 29, at the Hilton Chicago and will mark the first official appearance of Maryland and Rutgers as members of the Big Ten.
Beginning at 10 a.m. CT, fans in attendance will take part in an autograph session with all 14 head coaches and the former player from each school. Fans will have the opportunity to take photos of head coaches along with current and former players at around 10:50 a.m.
The group of former players, one from each Big Ten school, includes 11 all-conference selections, nine All-Americans, three College Football Hall of Famers, three Super Bowl winners and two national champions. The full list of former players scheduled to be in attendance at the Kickoff Luncheon can be found below:
Dana Howard, Illinois (1991-94)
Anthony Thompson, Indiana (1986-89)
Chuck Long, Iowa (1982-85)
Kevin Glover, Maryland (1982-84)
Jon Jansen, Michigan (1995-98)
Flozell Adams, Michigan State (1994-97)
Laurence Maroney, Minnesota (2003-05)
Kris Brown, Nebraska (1995-98)
Darnell Autry, Northwestern (1994-96)
Tito Paul, Ohio State (1991-94)
Anthony Adams, Penn State (1999-2002)
Dave Butz, Purdue (1970-72)
L.J. Smith, Rutgers (1999-2002)
Mark Tauscher, Wisconsin (1997-99)
The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m., with ESPN's Rece Davis serving as emcee and sitting down with the coaches in small groups to discuss the upcoming season. The event also will feature speeches by Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, Tournament of Roses president Rich Chinen and Ameer Abdullah of Nebraska. The All-Big Ten running back and Academic All-Big Ten honoree will speak on behalf of the 42 players in attendance. The complete list of player attendees can be found at www.bigten.org.
A limited number of tickets remain available for $110 per seat or $1,100 per table (10 seats). Contact Josh Munk at the Big Ten office at 847-696-1010, ext. 105, or jmunk@bigten.org to purchase tickets.
For over four decades, the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon has featured some of the biggest names in college football. Legendary players like Desmond Howard, Eddie George, Ron Dayne and Drew Brees, as well as storied coaches like Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes, Duffy Daugherty and Hayden Fry, have all attended this historic event. In all, more than 850 of the conference's finest players, over 60 head coaches and nearly 50,000 supporters have made the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon a yearly stop in their preseason college football schedules.