Kearney, Neb. – The 14th Annual Loper Football Backers dinner and scholarship fundraiser held on Thursday night (April 24) at the Younes Conference Center North capped off a great spring for the Nebraska-Kearney football program. KRVN’s Jayson Jorgensen spoke with head coach Ryan Held about the night.
Well over 700 Loper fans, encompassing 73 tables, got a chance to bid on 24 live, 10 super silent and 150 silent auction times as well as taking part in several raffles. Once again, there was strong individual tickets sales with 59 corporate tables purchased. In 3.5 hours, these fans helped raise just under $254,000, surpassing this year’s goal of $250,000. Nearly $114,000 of the final tally came from the “Scholarship Ask” with the live auction providing $56,000 and the silent totaling nearly $41,500. Finally, ticket sales and corporate tables provided another $33,000.
Since it was first hosted in 2010, the event has now garnered over $2.65 million dollars for scholarships and other program needs. The Loper Football Backers is a community-led volunteer organization whose mission is to raise scholarship dollars for the UNK Football program.
Continuing a recent tradition, a player received scholarship money for the upcoming season and this year’s honoree is redshirt junior linebacker Riley Gallaway (Amherst). UNK beings fall camp on Monday, Aug. 5, with the season-opener coming Thursday, Aug. 29, at Chadron State.
