University of Minnesota Athletics
Nine Gophers Up For Icon Status
3/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Credentialed members of the media selected 100 former Big Ten stars to the preliminary Big Ten Icons Watch List at a reception in Indianapolis Thursday, hosted by the Big Ten Network in Indianapolis. Nine former Minnesota student-athletes were among those 100 former Big Ten stars who are up for the honor of being named a Big Ten Icon.
Big Ten Icons, the network's new 20-episode series hosted by legendary college sports broadcaster Keith Jackson, will debut Sept. 18. New episodes every Tuesday night will continue the countdown throughout football season and into the spring. The No. 1 Big Ten Icon will be revealed around the 2011 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament.
Bobby Bell (football), Neal Broten (hockey), Tony Dungy (football), Kevin McHale (basketball), Bronko Nagurski (football), Bruce Smith (football), Mychal Thompson (basketball), Lindsay Whalen (basketball) and Dave Winfield (baseball/basketball) are Minnesota's candidates for the honor.
Icons 50 through 21 will be revealed online daily prior to the show's on-air launch at www.BigTenIcons.com and www.facebook.com/BigTenIcons. The websites will include a text and video feature on each Icon.
The top-50 list and the order are being determined by a panel of on-air talent, network executives, conference officials and long-time Big Ten observers, based on each individual's Big Ten playing career.
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