The Big Ten is on a big mission — one that former Indiana University football standout Tevin Coleman connects with on a personal level.
In an effort to combat the U.S.’s critical blood and platelet shortages, the conference and Abbott are pitting the 18 schools against each other for its first We Give Blood Drive competition.
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“Recently my daughter, who has sickle cell (disease), was in a hospital for about a month and she had to have a blood transfusion,” Coleman told NBC. “As she was having that blood transfusion, the doctor said that it was going to take a day for her to find a match for her blood. That’s why to me it’s real important to donate blood and save lives."
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, just one donation can save up to three lives.
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An exciting incentive for the campaign is that the Big Ten school with the highest blood donations will be awarded $1 million to enhance student or community health initiatives.
The drive, which is also backed by regular donor and NFL legend Tom Brady, is open on college campuses to anyone that would like to make a donation from Sept. 26 through Dec. 6. However, the IU alum is rooting for his squad to finish out on top.
“We got to tighten up Hoosiers, man,” Coleman said about his school that sits in 9th place so far. “We got to win this blood drive and get that million (dollars)."
Whether it is in the donation booths or on the field, Indiana (9-0) is having a steller season, one Coleman would say is “unheard of.”
“Coach Cig (Curt Cignetti) is changing that whole university around, charnging that whole program around, man, and it’s exciting to see.”
Cignetti, whom IU hired from James Madison last November, has become the only head coach in school history to win his first nine games.
The Hoosiers have a challenging upcoming schedule, facing opponents Michigan (5-4) and Ohio State (7-1).
"I think they definitely gonna beat Michigan for sure… but the real tough game is definitely gonna be Ohio State, because Ohio State every year, man, their players, they got some amazing players, some amazing skillset players that's hard to bring down and hard to scout,” Coleman said.
Coleman played football at IU from 2012 to 2014 where he collected a bunch of accolades.
He rushed for 2,036 yards in his final year to break the school’s single-season record and finished seventh in the 2014 Heisman Trophy voting.
After choosing to forgo his senior season, the Atlanta Falcons drafted him in the 2015 NFL Draft where he spent three seasons. He went on to play for the San Francisco 49ers (2019–2020), New York Jets (2021) and back to the 49ers in 2022.
