Brandon Koch Earns Jake Young Scholarship

Lincoln, Neb. ? Nebraska offensive guard Brandon Koch will be awarded the Jake Young Memorial Scholarship on Saturday, in a special pregame presentation. Young, a Husker two-time All-American and academic All-American, was tragically killed in October, 2002, in a terrorist bomb attack in Bali.

The Jake Young Memorial Scholarship was made possible by generous donations from friends and family, Husker fans across the nation and by a generous donation from Lynn and Dana Roper. The Roper’s were Young’s Lincoln parents.

Koch has been a key part of Nebraska’s strong offensive output in the season’s first three games. Koch, a junior from Gothenburg, Neb., has started all three games this fall and five games in his Husker career. Originally, a walk-on Koch was awarded a scholarship near the completion of spring ball.

Koch has also distinguished himself with an outstanding off-the-field record. A 2003 first-team academic All-Big 12 selection, Koch carries a 3.119 grade-point average in secondary education. He has also been named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s honor roll four times during his collegiate career and was an honorable-mention pick on the 2003 Brook Berringer Citizenship Team.

Brandon’s parents, Loren and Mary Koch, will accept the scholarship from Jake’s parents, Jacob Sr., and Barbara Young, Jake’s wife, Laura, his 4-year-old son, Wilson and his sister, Erin Hoffman in a pregame ceremony.

The 34-year-old former University of Nebraska All-American football player was in Bali when a bomb attack killed nearly 200 people on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2002. Young was in Bali competing in a final rugby tournament with his Hong Kong Football Club teammates prior to moving back to Kansas City after working for a law firm, Clifford Chance in Hong Kong, the last two years.

Young was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American for Coach Tom Osborne and the Huskers, earning four letters from 1986 to 1989. He graduated with a degree in finance in 1989. As a senior, Young was a Lombardi semifinalist and earned the coveted NCAA Today’s Top Six Award. He was the third Husker center in the Tom Osborne era to be a two-time first-team All-American, joining Rik Bonness (1974-75) and Dave Rimington (1981-82). A three-year starter, Young assisted Nebraska to top three national rankings in rushing all four years of his career, and to NCAA rushing titles in 1988 and 1989. Moving to the varsity during his first week on campus, Young played guard for both the varsity and freshman teams in 1986. He saw enough playing time with the varsity to become the first true freshman to earn a letter on the offensive line since freshman eligibility was restored in 1972. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2000 and was a frequent visitor to his alma mater.

Young had worked for two Kansas City law firms from 1993 to 2000 following his graduation from UNL law school in 1994. He then joined the Clifford Chance law firm in Hong Kong, where he practiced international law. He was a member of the Missouri and New York bars. He also served on the board of directors of the UNL Alumni Association.

Donations can still be made to the Jake Young Award c/o University of Nebraska Foundation, 1111 Lincoln Mall, Lincoln, Neb., 68508 or to Jake Young Memorial Fund c/o Bank Midwest, 1100 Main St., Suite 215, Kansas City, Mo., 64015.

Directions to Exit North from Stadium
In an effort to make Nebraska’s game-day experience as enjoyable as possible, the Nebraska Athletic Department would like to remind football fans who park North of Memorial Stadium and enter through the Northeast or East stadium entrances will find the most convenient exit from the stadium through the Northwest Gates. The Northwest exit is located on field level and provides the easiest access to the walking bridge from the stadium to all North Parking. Fans who come early to enjoy the game-day atmosphere of the Husker Nation Pavilion are reminded that the Pavilion closes at the end of the third quarter.

Other special events taking place this Saturday include...
Special Olympics...This weekend’s special charity is the Special Olympics. The designated charity of the Big 12, Special Olympics representatives will collect outside of the gates before the start of the football game and will be outside the stadium again at the conclusion of the game.

At the Pavilion...men’s and women’s basketball will be available two hours prior to kickoff to mingle with the crowd and sign autographs. The featured band at the Pavilion this week is Cactus Hill.

1955 Orange Bowl Team to Gather for Kansas Game...The Nebraska football program will honor the 50th anniversary of its first Orange Bowl team this weekend when the Huskers play host to Kansas. The 1954 Husker team that played in the 1955 Orange Bowl is having a reunion on Friday night in the West Stadium Club (Level 3) and will be recognized during the first quarter break at Saturday’s game with Kansas.

Thirty-four members of the 1954 team are scheduled to be in attendance for the weekend’s festivities, in addition to Head Coach Bill Glassford and John Bordogna. The Huskers lost 34-7 to Duke in the 1955 Orange Bowl, but the contest marked the first of 17 trips to Miami for the New Year’s Classic. The 1954 Cornhuskers finished second behind Oklahoma in the Big Seven race, but went to the Orange Bowl under the no-repeat rule. Part of Nebraska’s 4-2 Big Seven record in 1954 was a 41-20 victory over Kansas in Lawrence.

For more information on the 1955 Orange Bowl Reunion or to interview members who will be in attendance, please contact Chris Anderson at 402-472-2263.

Great Fans, Great Players...Pat Fischer was a team captain for Bill Jennings in 1960, and lettered in 1958, 1959 and 1960. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1974 and comes from a long line of great players in the Fischer family. Pat also enjoyed an outstanding career in the NFL that spanned 17 years and included a trip to the Super Bowl with the Washington Redskins in 1973. Fischer resides in Leesburg, Va. and is unable to attend on Saturday, but will be represented by his daughter Allison. Fischer is joined on the Oct. 2 Kansas ticket by Kenneth Hitt. Ninety-six years young, Hitt has been a season ticket holder since the early 1940s, donating to the Touchdown Club since it was first formed. He taught true sportsmanship to his children and watched them and his grandchildren become faithful Husker fans.