April 11, 2007

The 2007 USC football team, along with head coach Pete Carroll and actor Will Ferrell, will join hundreds of participants in the water at the 27th annual "Swim With Mike" swim-a-thon fundraiser this Saturday (April 14) at the USC McDonald's Swim Stadium.

Following their final spring practice on adjacent Howard Jones Field, the Trojan football team will swim a position-against-position relay race at approximately 1:30 p.m., joined in the water by the USC Song Girls. A special "Pete Vs. Will" Challenge, featuring Carroll and "Blades of Glory" star Ferrell, will occur at that time.

The "Swim With Mike" event, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. with free admission and parking, hopes to raise more than $800,000 for the Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund at USC. Since 1981,$6.3 million has been raised to provide more than 60 scholarships to USC and 14 other universities from New York to Hawaii to athletes who have overcome life-challenging accidents or illnesses.

A barbeque, raffle and silent auction also be held, with music provided by the Trojan Marching Band. USC swimming coach Dave Salo and his Trojan team, including 3-time NCAA champion and Olympic silver medalist Larsen Jensen, along with legendary former USC coach Peter Daland and Trojan Olympic swimmers John Naber and Bruce Furniss will conduct a swim clinic.

The "Swim" began in 1981 when friends and teammates of USC 3-time All-American swimmer Mike Nyeholt rallied to his aid to help him recover from a paralyzing motorcycle accident. What was to be a one-time event, "Swim For Mike," raised $58,000. At Nyeholt's suggestion, the excess donations were used to establish the Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund. The next year, Nyeholt joined other swimmers in the water helping raise money and the swim-a-thon became an annual event, which was renamed "Swim With Mike."

Stanford and Hawaii are also holding "Swim With Mike" events on April 21.