Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Hosts Annual Autism Awareness Game Sunday
12/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| (rv/rv) Northwestern (6-0) vs. Loyola (2-4) |
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| Date | Sunday, Dec. 7 | 2:00 p.m. |
| Location | Welsh-Ryan Arena | Evanston, Ill. |
| Watch Live | BTN Plus on BTN2GO |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Social Media | @nuwbball  | Facebook  | @NUWILDCATS_WBB  |
| Game Notes (PDF) |
Northwestern | Loyola |
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The Northwestern's women's basketball team has a special connection with autism and since head coach Joe McKeown took over in 2008 the Wildcats have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the developmental disorder. One way to increase the knowledge of those in the Chicagoland area is to partner with Autism Speaks to host the annual Autism Awareness Game at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Now in its sixth season, the annual event will take place this Sunday, Dec. 7 when the 'Cats host the Loyola Ramblers at 2 p.m.
For more information about the Sixth Annual Autism Awareness Game, please click here.
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By Jasper Scherer, NUsports.com contributor
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Perhaps more so than any other sport, basketball fosters close connections between players and coaches that stem from dramatic moments during big games, long hours spent in the gym and even more hours discussing strategy and studying film. During their three-plus years together at Northwestern, Alex Cohen and Joe McKeown have experienced plenty of that, but they also share a bond that goes beyond basketball.
Cohen, a senior center, and McKeown, a longtime head coach in his seventh season at Northwestern, both have close family connections to autism, a disorder that affects one in 68 children in the United States and thousands more around the world--which is why Sunday's Autism Awareness Game means a lot more than just extending Northwestern's unblemished start to open up the season.
Cohen's 23-year-old brother, Aaron, was diagnosed with autism when he was three.
"I've kind of lived with it my entire life," Cohen says, "so coming to Northwestern, Coach McKeown obviously has a connection with autism, which was really cool for my family and I because they understand it. Just to have that connection is really special."
McKeown's son, Joey, is also afflicted with autism, which is why the NU head coach began the annual tradition of the Autism Awareness Game six years ago.
"First of all, it's great that Northwestern gives us the opportunity, and I always appreciate that," McKeown says. "I've done a lot of things on a national stage over the last 18, 20 years, but to do it in the community that you live in, where you see it every day, and to give families a day where they can come and have some fun...
"These kids, sometimes their lives are so hard," he continues. "To come here and just relax, have fun, and then for us to be able to create an environment where maybe some people that weren't aware of what's going on in the lives of these young men and women will recognize that and maybe get involved themselves...that would be one of the goals, more so on awareness than a financial thing."
When Cohen came to Northwestern in 2011, she decided she wanted to make an impact on campus, so she joined the Northwestern chapter of Autism Speaks U, eventually serving as president during parts of her sophomore and junior years. The organization is comprised of students with the mission of spreading awareness for the disorder while also raising funds for research and services, and they've accomplished that through bake sales, painting The Rock and holding acapella concerts--and, of course, helping with the annually held Autism Awareness Game.
"I've been able to work with Coach and some of the people at Autism Speaks this year to just kind of organize the [game], getting the word out to people in the community," Cohen says, "having the opportunity to help with some of the aspects of the game, for example, the ceremonial tip and some of the recognition at the timeouts and before the game and at halftime, just kind of organizing that and making sure there are appropriate resources for the kids."
McKeown's daughter, former Northwestern captain Meghan McKeown, also worked with Cohen through Autism Speaks U and the Autism Awareness Game tradition before she graduated last year. Like Cohen, she has grown up with an autistic sibling, inspiring her to make a difference in college.
"We moved [Meghan] in the middle of high school, in some respects to help us find a better place for her brother," McKeown says about his family's transition to Northwestern. "I think she saw firsthand how to live through some of those things, how it affects families, and I think with Alex too, every day, just seeing, knowing...what can you do to help?
"Parents always look at if as we're not doing enough, but I think siblings look at it as, hey I just want to support my brother, that's all. I just want him to know that I care about him and I'm there for him. And I think that's special to see that."
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