APSU Football coach Joshua Eargle receives Rare Disease Champion Award

APSU Sports Information

Harrisburg, PA – Austin Peay State University (APSU) interim head football coach Joshua Eargle has been named the 11th recipient of the Rare Disease Champion Award, announced prior to the College Football Awards Show, Thursday.

The Rare Disease Champion Award is presented annually by Uplifting Athletes, a nonprofit organization founded in 2007 that ‘”inspires the rare disease community with hope through the power of sport.”

The award is presented to “a leader in the world of college football who has realized his or her potential to make a positive and lasting impact on the rare disease community.”

Eargle won the award based on an online public vote that lasted from November 12th-December 4th.

He was among five finalists that included: Illinois offensive lineman Nick Allegretti, Stanford linebacker Ryan Beecher, Kent State wide receiver Antwan Dixon and Syracuse offensive lineman Sam Heckel.

“We are proud to honor Coach Joshua Eargle as the 11th Rare Disease Champion. The Eargle family’s story while unique, is shared with many other rare disease families across the country,” Uplifting Athletes Executive Director Rob Long said.

“The willingness of Coach Eargle and his family to use their platform to inspire other rare families will undoubtedly have a profound impact and bring awareness to the rare disease cause,” stated Long.

Eargle and his wife Kristen have three children, and their middle child, Landrey, was diagnosed with a rare mutation of the CSNK2B gene. She battles myoclonic epilepsy, intellectual disability, a congenital heart defect, and immunodeficiency.

Prior to kickoff of the 2018 football season at Georgia, a GoFundMe campaign to help raise money for Landrey’s medical costs gained significant attention from college football fans across the country who were eager to support the cause, including a huge contingent of Bulldogs fans.

Eargle, and his family, will continue to use his platform as a means to raise awareness for conditions similar to Landrey’s with the aim to help generate funding for battling and eventually finding a cure for rare genetic disorders.

Coach Eargle will be honored as part of the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala, March 8th, in Atlantic City, New Jersey at the Tropicana Casino & Resort and during the Uplifting Athletes Young Investigator Draft/Rare Disease Champion Celebration, March 9th, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Past recipients of the award include former UCF standout and current Seattle Seahawks safety Shaquem Griffin, USC long snapper Jake Olson, former Auburn star and current Houston Texans wide receiver Sammie Coates, former Nebraska and current New England Patriots running back Rex Burkhead, among others.