Schreiber Finalist for Rare Disease Champion Award
2/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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About Rare Disease Champiom Award
LFSN Game On Feature about Zachary Schreiber
Liberty's Zachary Schreiber has been named one of six finalist for the 2016 Rare Disease Champion Award.
The Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Award is given annually to a leader in college football who has realized his or her potential to make a positive and lasting impact on the rare disease community.
Nominees for the 2016 award were solicited from any NCAA FBS, FCS, Division II and Division III college football programs nationwide.
Schreiber is one of six finalists chosen to determine the eighth winner of the Rare Disease Champion award. The other finalists include Penn wide receiver Kaleb Germinaro, Iowa State defensive end Mitchell Meyers, USC long snapper Jake Olson, UCLA cornerback Marcus Rios and West Virginia running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider.
After missing the 2014 season as he battled Ulcerative Colitis (UC), Schreiber returned to play in all 11 games during his senior season in 2015. Utilized mostly on special teams, Schreiber's lone tackle on the year came during Liberty's 24-21 upset victory over No. 4 Coastal Carolina during the program's first-ever nationally televised football game on ESPNEWS.
A public online vote went live Feb. 1 and runs until midnight Feb. 17 to determine the 2016 Rare Disease Champion. Fans can vote once each day for their favorite finalist at www.upliftingathletes.org/rare-disease-champion.
The finalist with the most votes will be winner. The champion will be officially announced February 18th as part of the Rare Disease Month celebration.
The 2016 Rare Disease Champion will be honored as part of the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala on March 11 in Atlantic City, New Jersey at the Tropicana.
Of the seven previous Rare Disease Champion winners, four were FBS players, one FCS player, a Division III quarterback and an administrator from AFCA.
Former Auburn and current Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Sammie Coates was the 2015 Rare Disease Champion.
ZACHARY SCHREIBER STORY
During summer workouts prior to the 2014 season, Zachary Schreiber battled stomach issues. His original diagnosis was an infection, but the symptoms not only continued but escalated as he continued to lose weight battling his rare disease – nearly 40 pounds in a six-week stretch.
So Schreiber returned home to Maryland and was ultimately diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (UC) at Johns Hopkins. He was told he had one of the more severe cases of UC, and was told he might never play football again. Schreiber, continues to battle flare-ups associated with his UC and receives a monthly infusion but was able to play out his senior season in 2015.
A biomedical science major, Schreiber, who has a strong faith and believes his journey with a rare disease was to equip him to better serve others, will graduate in the spring and plans to continue his journey to helping others through medical science by going to physician assistant school.
ABOUT THE AWARD
An awareness campaign powered by Uplifting Athletes, the Rare Disease Champion is determined by college football fans and the rare disease community through online voting. The award is presented to the winner at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala in Atlantic City, N.J., and celebrated at Uplifting Athletes' Gridiron Gala in Harrisburg, Pa.
Qualified nominees must be a student-athlete, coach, trainer or staff member from a college football program with a rare disease connection. The individual can be surviving or fighting a rare disease, raising money for a rare disease, or is inspired to advocate for others battling a rare disease. A rare disease is defined as one that affects fewer than 200,000 Americans.
Sculpted by world renowned artist Brian Hanlon, the Rare Disease Champion trophy is in the likeness of Mark Herzlich, the former Boston College and current New York Giants linebacker who provided the inspiration for the award after overcoming a life-threatening battle with the rare disease Ewing's sarcoma in 2009.
UPLIFTING ATHLETES
Uplifting Athletes is a national nonprofit organization that aligns college football with rare diseases and raises them as a national priority. A rare disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 Americans and consequently lacks financial incentive to make and market new treatments. Founded in 2007, Uplifting Athletes has had a financial impact of more than $400 million on the rare disease community. By working with college football programs throughout FBS and FCS conferences, Uplifting Athletes inspires the rare disease community with hope through the power of sport and empowers medical researchers to find cures. For more information about Uplifting Athletes visit, www.upliftingathletes.org.
