EAST CAROLINA'S ROGGEMAN NOMINATED FOR FEDEX ORANGE BOWL/FWAA COURAGE AWARD

Roggeman talking to his players during a game

Miami Lakes, FL (FWAA) – East Carolina’s Thomas "Rock" Roggeman is the weekly nominee for the 2009 FedEx Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award, to be announced at the end of the season. Roggeman, the Pirates’ defensive tackles coach, has taken a medical leave of absence while battling non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Roggeman, 46, in his fifth season as an ECU assistant, was diagnosed with the cancer of the lymphatic system last summer. He continued coaching while undergoing treatments, but left the team in late September in order to undertake a more aggressive treatment plan.

"All I had to hear the doctor say, ‘We can cure this,’" Roggeman told the South Bend Tribune last summer. "When I got the word, I was scared, I was humbled. … I don’t complain. I don’t make this a burden on anyone, especially the team. I’m just gonna compete, compete, compete."

On Sept. 26, before East Carolina’s 19-14 win over Central Florida, Roggeman delivered the pregame remarks. East Carolina coach Skip Holtz didn’t provide specifics, but said, "It was not a Win-one-for Rock type of talk."

"It was very emotional, an inspiration," ECU quarterback Patrick Pinkney told Bonesville.net. "A lot of people don’t get the opportunity to do what we do, and what coach ‘Rock’ is going through, that’s an inspiration to us.

"He’s fighting for his life. That’s more than the game of football. We’re praying for him and we’re going to keep giving that determination to win each and every week."

Roggeman, who played linebacker and nose guard at Notre Dame, has dropped in on several Pirates’ practices between treatments, providing a lift to players and coaches.

For the fourth straight year, the Football Writers Association of America and the FedEx Orange Bowl will announce a weekly nominee each Wednesday during the season. A blue-ribbon panel will determine the winner from all of the nominees. The winner of the FedEx Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award will be announced in December and be presented with the trophy.

The Courage Award was created by ESPN The Magazine's senior writer Gene Wojciechowski, also a FWAA member. A select group of writers from the FWAA vote on the winner each year. The requirements for nomination include displaying courage on or off the field, including overcoming an injury or physical handicap, preventing a disaster or living through hardship.

Previous winners of the FWAA's Courage Award are Tulsa’s Wilson Holloway (2008), Navy’s Zerbin Singleton (2007), Clemson's Ray Ray McElrathbey (2006), the Tulane football team (2005), Memphis' Haracio Colen (2004), San Jose State's Neil Parry (2003) and Toledo's William Bratton (2002).

· Sept. 23: D.J. Williams, Arkansas

· Sept. 30: Mark Herzlich, Boston College

· Oct. 8: Darius Nall, Central Florida

· Oct. 14: Ricky Rosas, USC

· Oct. 21: Derrick Coleman, UCLA

· Oct. 28: Connecticut football team

· Nov. 4: Antoine "Shaky" Smithson, Utah

· Nov. 11: Dan Potokar, Ohio State

· Nov. 18: Thomas "Rock" Roggeman, East Carolina