BEVERLY, Mass. (AP) — NCAA officials plan to hand deliver an award to the former Boston College baseball captain who inspired the Ice Bucket Challenge phenomenon that raised millions of dollars for ALS research.
The collegiate sports organization says Pete Frates can’t attend an awards celebration in Nashville, Tennessee. this January to accept the 2017 Inspiration Award because the neurodegenerative disease is progressing.
So NCAA president Mark Emmert and NCAA honors committee chair Dr. Michael Benson will present him with it at his home in Beverly, Mass.
Frates was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2012. The disease, also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease, weakens muscles, impairs physical functioning and has no cure yet.
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge raised more than $220 million when it took off worldwide on social media in 2014.
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