Last night’s ESPY awards on ESPN featured two big moments for the state of Iowa. The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team captured the 2010 ESPY for Best Upset. Panther head men’s basketball coach Ben Jacobson accepted the award alongside seniors Ali Farokhmanesh and Adam Koch. “On behalf of these two guys, their teammates watching at home, ESPN, the fans that voted for us, Cedar Falls and Waterloo, and all the proud alums of Northern Iowa this caps off a great run for us this year. Cedar Falls and Waterloo, we’re bringing home an ESPY,” Jacobson said on stage when he addressed the crowd at the Nokia Center. UNI scored a 69-67 victory over No. 1-ranked Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in March.
However the most touching moment may have come with the presentation of the Arthur Ashe Award for courage, which was given to the family of slain Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas. His wife and two sons were on hand to accept the award. Also in attendance was the Becker family whose son played for Thomas and the shot him in the school weight room in May of 2009. Future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre presented the ESPY to the family.
