APSU Sports Information
Harrisburg, PA – Austin Peay State University (APSU) offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Joshua Eargle has been selected by Uplifting Athletes as a finalist for the 11th annual Rare Disease Champion Award.
The Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Award, part of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), 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.
Coach Eargle is one of five finalists chosen to determine the 11th winner of the Rare Disease Champion Award.
Eargle and his wife Kristen have three children, and their middle child, Landrey, was recently 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, 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.
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.
A public online vote will to determine the new Rare Disease Champion, and it will run from November 12th – December 4th. Fans can vote once each day for their favorite finalist at www.upliftingathletes.org/rare-disease-champion.
The finalist with the most votes after voting closes at midnight on December 4th will be the winner. The champion will be officially announced on the red carpet from the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on December 6th.
Uplifting Athletes’ 11th Rare Disease Champion will be honored as part of the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala on March 8th in Atlantic City, New Jersey at the Tropicana Casino & Resort and as part of the Uplifting Athletes Young Investigator Draft/Rare Disease Champion Celebration on March 9th at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Past Rare Disease Champion winners include seven FBS players, one FCS player, a Division III quarterback and an administrator from AFCA.
Former UCF and current Seattle Seahawks linebacker Shaquem Griffin was the 10th winner of the Rare Disease Champion Award.
About Uplifting Athletes
A nonprofit organization founded in 2007, Uplifting Athletes inspires the rare disease community with hope through the power of sport. A rare disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 Americans and typically lacks financial incentive to make and market new treatments. With a network of university chapters run by current college football student-athletes that spans all major conferences.
For more information about Uplifting Athletes, visit www.upliftingathletes.org
