Ruud to Receive Berringer Scholarship

Nebraska senior linebacker and co-captain Barrett Ruud has been named the fourth annual honoree of the Brook Berringer Memorial Endowed Scholarship.

The endowment was established by a benefit concert given on Aug. 27, 1997, by the members of the country singing group, Sawyer Brown, who were friends of Brook Berringer. The scholarship was endowed in memory of former Nebraska quarterback Brook Berringer, who died in a plane crash on April 18, 1996.

Berringer was the epitome of a backup quarterback?patient, but always prepared, both mentally and physically, to take over when needed. Berringer served as Tommie Frazier’s backup in 1994 until the starter’s season ended because of blood clots. With poise and grace, Berringer calmly led Nebraska to eight consecutive victories and to the national championship game against Miami in the Orange Bowl.

An excellent student, Berringer graduated in December 1995 with a degree in business administration. He was expected to be selected in the 1996 NFL draft on April 20-21, but did not get to live out his dream. As a result of Berringer’s extensive community service effort, the Husker football program established the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team honoring current Huskers for consistent and dedicated community service.

Criteria for the Brook Berringer Memorial Endowed Scholarship include the following: Must be a senior scholarship football student-athlete; must be involved in community service along with high ideals, excellent character and integrity.

Ruud is the cornerstone of Nebraska’s defense, leading the team with 58 tackles in five games. Last weekend at Texas Tech, Ruud had 12 tackles to increase his career tackle total to 347, setting the Husker career tackle record, bettering the 342 by Jerry Murtaugh from 1968 to 1970. Ruud also holds the single-season tackle record, making 149 stops as a junior.

The pregame presentation will take place prior to the Nebraska ? Baylor game on Saturday, Oct. 16. Jan Berringer and family members along with members of the Ruud family will be on hand for the presentation.

Brook Berringer Scholarship Winners
2001 Tracey Wistrom, TE
2002 Troy Hassebroek, WB
2003 Patrick Kabongo, NT
2004 Barrett Ruud, LB

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 Charities...This weekend the University salutes two special charities?the Red Cross and the Teammates Program.

Red Cross Appreciation Day... In recognition of these efforts, the University of Nebraska has designated Saturday, Oct. 16 as Red Cross Appreciation Day at Memorial Stadium. More than 300 volunteers from throughout the community will be passing buckets at halftime of the Baylor game, collecting donations for the American Red Cross. All proceeds will remain in Lancaster County to support local programs and services. When the Red Cross bucket comes to you, please show your support for the Red Cross by putting a buck in the bucket.

Also at halftime, longtime Red Cross volunteer Marie Schafer will receive the honorary game ball in recognition of her 40-plus years of service. Celebrating her 88th birthday on Sunday, Schafer has been a volunteer with the Red Cross in Memorial Stadium since 1962.

Teammates...The Teammates mentoring program was developed by former head coach Tom Osborne and his wife Nancy. The program matches mentors in the community with local junior high school students with an emphasis on achieving success in the classroom. Five volunteer mentors in the Teammates program along with the five students will be present and recognized before Saturday’s game, as NU salutes the more than 2,000 volunteers in Nebraska who take part in the Teammates program.

At the Pavilion...Husker Madness...So big we had to move it outside!!! The Husker men’s and women’s basketball teams will conduct short scrimmages for fans at the Pavilion on an outdoor full-size basketball court brought in for just this occasion. On the first day of practice for both Husker squads, the women’s team will scrimmage for 10 minutes at 10:30 a.m., while the men will begin at 10:45 a.m., or just after "The Walk" when the football team arrives at the Stadium. The court will be on the outdoor Ed Weir track, facing the grandstands on the south side of the track.

One fan will also have the chance to shoot to win up to $500,000. The first 5,000 entrants Saturday will be eligible to have the chance to take one three-point shot for $7,500, one half-court shot for $37,500 or a series shootout (a made lay-up, free throw, three-pointer and half-court shot in 25 seconds) for $500,000. Fans will also have a chance to win two tickets to the Nebraska vs. Kansas men’s basketball game on Feb. 5 when then sign up for season tickets.

Coach Connie Yori, who enters her third season with the Husker women’s team, will get the event started. Yori and her squad, which includes five returning letterwinners from last year’s 18-12 squad and seven newcomers, will be introduced to the Big Red faithful before scrimmaging for approximately 10 minutes.

Following the end of the women’s scrimmage, Coach Barry Collier and the Husker men will be introduced to the public for the first time this season. The Husker men return 10 letterwinners from their 18-13 campaign last season and adds five talented newcomers. The Huskers will then hold a 15-minute scrimmage for the fans. After the men’s scrimmage, Coach Collier will draw the name of the person who will have a chance at winning the $500,000 prize. Both scrimmages will be seen live on the internet at Huskers.com.

The outdoor sport court ? a Swiss Flex Court ? the Huskers will be playing on Saturday is being brought in from Georgia. It is a full-size court that will fit on the East side of the track, with bleacher seating for the Red Zone student section placed on each base line. Husker fans will also have a chance to purchase both men’s and women’s season tickets at the Husker Nation Pavilion on Saturday. Great tickets are still available. Applications will also be taken for kids to join the Junior Red Zone and the Lil’ ?Breakers booster clubs, where tickets are sold.

This week’s local feature band is Final Round and there will be a new inflatable game available for kids. Because the football game is not carried by any television network, it will NOT be available to show at the Pavilion. When the game starts, the big screen televisions at the Pavilion will be turned off.

Great Fans, Great Players...Nebraska’s first African-American Academic All-American, Tony Jeter earned the honor in 1965. Lettering in 1963, 1964 and 1965, Jeter was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1966 to 1968. Jeter is joined on the Oct. 16 Baylor ticket by Millie DeVere. After moving to Lincoln in 1947, Millie’s husband, a native of Lincoln, introduced her to Nebraska football and she has been a member of the Husker Nation ever since, missing just three games since 1952. After the death of her husband in 1978, Millie has continued the Husker tradition through her family by taking her grandchildren to the games and teaching them to uphold the reputation of being one of the greatest fans in college football. She will be accompanied by her children and grandchildren on Saturday.