On a beautiful Saturday evening, the Redbird football team enjoyed a 45-0 win over Butler in Hancock Stadium. With a record-setting performance on the field, it may have been easy to forget what was going on 945 miles away in the state of Texas. However, Redbird student-athletes had Houston on their minds before and after the game.
Junior linebacker, and team captain, Brannon Barry presented an idea to head football coach Brock Spack about donating to the Hurricane Harvey relief effort.
“When I asked coach Spack his thoughts on possibly putting together some donations to help out my brother’s students in Houston, I was expecting a few items here and there. But this quickly turned into an athletic department effort to help out Houston during this hard time. When this program and school does things like this, it constantly reminds me why I chose to be a Redbird”
Bryce Barry, Brannon’s brother and a Butler Football alum, saw a perfect opportunity to not only watch his brother and former team play, but to also transport donations from Illinois State that would provide a huge benefit to his local community affected by Hurricane Harvey. Shoes and athletic wear were loaded on his truck to head back to Houston.
While talking to coach Spack, he stated “I think we are all trying to find ways to help the people of Houston. Brannon Barry came to us to see if we could help his brother, who is a principal of a high school in the Houston area. His students and families lost everything. We are all happy to help in any way we can, not only as a football team, but as an entire athletic department.”
In a short time frame, 100 pairs of shoes and over 50 shirts were collected and are now in Houston helping those in need.
