Uplifting Athletes is pleased to announce that four finalists have been chosen for the 2018 Rare Disease Champion Award.

The Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Award is given to a leader in college football who has realized his or her potential to make a positive and lasting impact on the rare disease community.

The 10th Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion will be one of these four individuals: Jaqwis Dancy of Louisiana Tech, Shaquem Griffin from University of Central Florida (UCF), Zack Mahoney from Syracuse and Casey O’Brien from Minnesota.

Uplifting Athletes is now a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). So, for the first time in the 10-year history of the Rare Disease Champion Award, the finalists were unveiled on the red carpet prior to the Home Depot College Football Awards Show in Atlanta on Thursday, December 7.

A public online vote is used to determine the winner of the Rare Disease Champion Award. You can vote once per day for your favorite finalist at www.upliftingathletes.org/rare-disease-champion and voting will be open until Monday, January 8th at midnight.

The finalist with the most votes will be winner. The 2018 champion will be officially announced on Tuesday, January 9th.

The 2018 Rare Disease Champion will be honored as part of the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala on March 9th in Atlantic City, New Jersey at the Tropicana Casino & Resort.