The Illinois Coaches Association and the Shriners of Illinois will host the 43rd annual Illinois High School Shrine Game on June 17th at Tucci Stadium on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University. Kick-off for the 43rd annual game is scheduled for Saturday, June 17th at 1:00p.m. The pregame festivities will begin with a fun Walk for LOVE event held at the stadium starting at 9am. Eighty-eight of the state’s best football players participate in this all-star game to raise money for Shriners Hospital for Children, the official philanthropy of Shriners International. More information about scheduled events, along with rosters for both the East and West teams, can be found at
www.ilshrinegame.com.
Each year at the
Shrine Game, two patients from the Shiners Hospital for Children are chosen to be the prince and princess. The princess is Keira Cromwell from Belleville who is a patient at the Shriners Hospital in St Louis. The prince is Gabe Weiss from Bartonville who is a patient at the Shriners Hospital in Chicago. The prince and princess are honorary representatives from each hospital that will benefit from the money raised through the game. Last year’s event raised nearly $20,000 that went directly to providing outstanding medical care for children at the Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Our goal is to create a fun and exciting environment for the players, families, Shrine kids, and Shriners and to make this a signature event for the Shriners of Illinois. This year’ s game will be aired live on Cities 92.9 which is a part of the Great Plains Media Group. The featured banquet speaker will be Andy Studebaker from Eureka and played in the NFL for 7 years after being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles. He then went on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts. Andy is currently an Assistant Coach at Wheaton College where he played his college career. About Shriners Hospitals for Children®
Shriners Hospitals for Children® is a health care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research, and outstanding teaching programs for medical professionals. Children up to age 18 with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-centered environment, regardless of the patients’ ability to pay. Visit the Shriners Hospitals website at
www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org.
For more information, please contact Eric Tjarks with the Illinois High School Shrine Game (217-781-2400) or Matt Hawkins at the Bloomington-Normal Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (309-665-0033).