Skip to main content

Badger-Gopher game to boost epilepsy awareness

November 25, 2014

Saturday’s matchup at Camp Randall is shaping up to be a significant event on many fronts.

—The Wisconsin Badgers and Minnesota Golden Gophers will battle for the coveted Paul Bunyan’s Axe while competing for a spot in the Big Ten Championship game.

—Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon will continue his run at the record books and the prestigious Heisman Trophy.

—Both teams will participate in a groundbreaking awareness effort, showing support for millions who live with epilepsy, including Minnesota Coach Jerry Kill.

Fans and television viewers will notice purple “1 in 26” decals on players’ helmets, with matching patches worn by UW coaching staff. This simple message conveys the number of people who will experience epilepsy and seizures in their lifetimes — a rate much higher than most people realize.

All Wisconsin and Minnesota fans are encouraged to wear purple along with their team colors to show support for the epilepsy cause. The first 5,000 students at the game will receive commemorative purple bandanas, courtesy of UW Health. Another 5,000 fans will get special purple towels from The Hub.

“Whether you’re a Gopher or a Badger, that little splash of purple can send a powerful, personal message of support,” says Anne Morgan Giroux, founder of Lily’s Fund for Epilepsy Research. “This is a fun way to support Coach Kill and everyone who is touched by epilepsy.”

In preparation for the big game, UW mascot Bucky Badger got into the act with a new video that underscores the “1 in 26” message while highlighting scientific research underway at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Lily’s Fund is a nonprofit organization that supports epilepsy research exclusively at UW–Madison. Currently, Lily’s Fund supports a postgraduate research fellowship in the Neuroscience Department, and a two-year study led by UW neuroscientist and psychiatrist Giulio Tononi. Tononi is exploring the use of HD-EEG technology to better understand how seizures affect the brain.

More information online