Students raise funds to honor late Reese

Almost every senior student athlete of every Michigan varsity team stood near the 50-yard-line of Michigan Stadium Saturday and held up the "M GO BLUE" banner for the final home football game of their college experience.

Hundreds of Michigan student athletes scrambled into two single-file lines to glimpse their team as it rushed under the banner.

Of those hundreds of seniors, the one who stood out the most was the one who wasn't there - who couldn't be there.

Jeff Reese's final athletic moment was two years ago, unplanned and heartbreaking.

He left without notice.

The wrestler still leaves his mark on the hearts and minds of his graduating class.

"Whether you know him or not, you can relate to him just being a student athlete," said senior Michigan tennis player Brad McFarlane.

Jeff was there.

You could feel it.

They could feel it.

In his honor stood eight winners who contributed to the Student Athlete Advisory Council raffle that raised more than $3,700 for a scholarship held in his name.

"The best part is seeing the excitement on these people's faces when they go out there and hold the banner," Michigan administrative assistant April Bayles said. "This whole thing is such and honor for them."

Especially with a cause as empowering as this one.

"This is what it's all about," SAAC treasurer and senior wrestler Matt Michalski said. "That the people who donated so much money towards the cause can be a part of this."

"I'd donate money regardless," said junior Michigan baseball player Joe Young of Detroit, whose mother won the raffle and had him go in her place. "Going on the field is just an added bonus."

Dr. John Wesley, father of Michigan freshman cross-country runner John Wesley Jr., was stunned he was able to be a part of it.

"It's a great idea," Wesley said. "It's great for the scholarship to be in honor of an athlete, and I'm pleased to contribute to it."

For Pete Stae, a Michigan alumnus, this was his first time ever standing on the field of his favorite football stadium.

"This is great," an elated Stae said. "I told somebody at work that this is one of the few things I wanted to put on my list to do in my life."

Ann Arbor resident Ken Bylsha raised the banner in memory of Reese - and somebody else very close to his heart.

"My dad died this week," Bylsha said. "He was a big Michigan fan, so it's really helpful. It's a great way to get you more tied up with the athletic department. It's a great idea. It's what I've always wanted to do."

Matt McGee, an Ann Arbor resident who has enjoyed Michigan football for the past 20 seasons, didn't directly win his spot on the gridiron.

"A friend of mine won it and transferred it to me," McGee said. "This is great, I can't believe it."

To Phil Laveck, a Syracuse alum and Michigan season ticket holder since 1980, there's nothing that could top his few seconds on the grass.

"This is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me as far as being in this stadium," Laveck said. "It's an absolute thrill to come out through that tunnel."

And the cause he was there to support made the experience that much more meaningful.

"They had someone who was so dedicated, who really wanted to get that wrestling weight," said Laveck, "and then have something so unfortunate happen to him, I think it's a great memorial to him."

Reese died getting ready to compete.

He needed to lose 14 pounds in four days, and in turn Michigan lost him.

That's why the Student Athletic Advisory Council started the scholarship. It has raised more than $18,200. It needs $100,000.

The money will go to any student athlete who embodies the hard work and determination that Reese represented.

"I have to thank the people that were there," SAAC president and former Michigan swimmer Andy Potts said. "The student athletes really made the commitment to themselves to not let this opportunity to start something new and great for Michigan athletics pass them by.

"It made it that much more special that it was for a good cause. It wasn't just for kicks, it had a purpose to it."

That purpose was Reese.

This one's for him.

11-22-99