North Central College to Honor Shaun Wild, Al Benedetti Before Football Game

will honor two alumni prior to the 1 p.m. start of the Cardinals’ first home football game of the season on Saturday, Sept. 1.

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Two alumni who died within the past year — Al Benedetti (Class of 1948) and Shaun Wild (Class of 2011) — will be honored during a pregame ceremony. The Cardinals face the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium, 455 S. Brainard St. Tickets are $6 for adults and free to students with a valid ID and to children ages 3 and under.

. He played football at North Central, was president of the Student Leaders Association of Teacher Educators and a member of the student-athlete honor society. He graduated in 2011 with a major in elementary education with minors in history and social studies and taught second grade at Spring Brook Elementary School in Naperville. 

Benedetti was a Life Trustee and longtime stalwart of the College who passed away on May 3. He played football as a student-athlete and graduated from the College in 1948 with a degree in chemistry. His numerous contributions to North Central College include helping to build the College’s former football stadium known as the “$18,000 Miracle in Naperville” in 1976 and the facility that bears his name—Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium—that was built after a devastating 1996 flood.

The Sept. 8, Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 games will be broadcast live on Naperville Community Television, Channel 17 and nctv17.com.