Temple Football Steps Up to Support Special Olympics Athletes

Days after a victory over East Carolina Panthers on Thursday 24-14 and just days before one of the biggest games of their season, Temple football players took some time to support the Special Olympics. The focus right now for all Temple football fans is on their next game against No. 9 Notre Dame on Halloween. However, on Sunday morning Temple players spent time supporting the Step up for Special Olympics in Center City at the BNY Mellon Center. 

The Step Up Challenge, is an event to honor Special Olympics athletes and the challenges they face on and off the field. The challenge in this case is climbing 53 flights of stairs, for a total of 1019 stairs.  Participants were able to take part in one of a few challenges. First, was testing your speed straight up the 53 flights of stairs. Another was to do a multi climb. Finally, participants also had the option to climb as few as 10 floors, yet were still welcomed as full event participants. For the most advanced participants, they could take part in the Crossclimb W.O.D which consisted of three rounds of 21 USA Kettlebell swings, 15 box jumps, and nine burpees along with the 53-story climb.

In 2014, the event raised $25,000 for Special Olympics Philadelphia and has proven to be a success this year as well. Although the event has passed, donations are still able to be made for the 2015 year. For video coverage of the Temple Football players helping in running the 2015 Step Up Challenge, click here to watch video. 

Temple returns to action on Saturday, October 31 for a Halloween showdown against No. 9 Notre Dame (6-1) at Lincoln Financial Field. Kickoff is at 8 p.m ET.