MINNEAPOLIS, MN - April 7, 2017 - University of Minnesota graduate and three-year linebackers coach Mike Sherels overcame a life-threatening ailment to return to the sidelines during the 2016 football season. The Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation is pleased to announce him as the recipient of the Courage Award. Sherels will be recognized at the 10 Year Anniversary of the Minnesota Football Honors on May 7.

Last August, Sherels was preparing for his third season as his alma mater’s linebackers coach. But health issues he began noticing in July took a turn for the worse one day and he was rushed to the hospital with severe intestinal problems. He spent five days in the ICU, and surgeons eventually removed his entire small intestine and much of the large intestine.

Sherels had been given slim chances of survival, let alone leading a normal life. He not only lived through his hospital stay, but went home less than two weeks after the first emergency surgery, attached to multiple tubes. Sherels’ abdominal organs that were left were no longer connected, and he could no longer eat.

During his medical leave Sherels remained in tune with the Gophers. Players and coaches visited frequently, and Sherels stopped by the football complex as he regained his strength. Doctors said he may never work again, but he returned for Minnesota’s fifth game of the season, an Oct. 8 home game against Iowa.

Sherels was a two-time captain during his 2003-07 playing career. In 2007 he received the team’s Neil Fredenburg Award for Courage and Love of the Game. Sherels and his wife, Emily, have four children: Valerie, Quinton, Lyla and Cecilia.

The 10 Year Anniversary of the Minnesota Football Honors will be held Sunday, May 7, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium. College and professional football Hall of Fame inductees are scheduled to attend to celebrate the best of Minnesota football. The largest football awards event in the state is presented by the Minnesota Vikings. The event is open to the public. To register or find additional information about this year’s Minnesota Football Honors, please visit www.minnesotafootballhonors.com. For sponsorship information, please email lindsay@nffmn.org.

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About the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation:
The Minnesota Chapter of The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a local non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and develop the power of amateur football in developing the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive spirit and academic excellence in Minnesota’s young people. The MN Chapter recognizes legendary football icons, college football Hall of Famers and Minnesota’s top high school and college football scholar athletes. For more information, visit www.nffmn.org, Facebook or Twitter.

Contact:
Lindsay Lommel, Event Manager
MN Chapter of The National Football Foundation
lindsay@nffmn.org