Big East Rivals Marquette and Butler Face-Off in Inaugural Blood Battle

MILWAUKEE – Oct. 20, 2022 – Two BIG EAST foes face off in a battle for a good cause. Butler University and Marquette University have teamed up with Versiti Blood Centers to compete off the basketball court during the inaugural Butler vs. Marquette Blood Battle. The Blood Battle is an eight-month competition where community members of each school rally to provide critical blood products to assist patients in need.

Versiti, a national leader in blood health innovation, serves more than 145 hospital partners across Indiana and Wisconsin and is the primary blood drive partner for both schools.

“This competition comes at a time where blood is especially needed in our communities,” said Chris Miskel, president and CEO of Versiti, who is also a Butler alumnus. “We are thrilled both campus communities are passionate about making a positive difference and cannot wait to see the life-saving results from this competition.”

“Donating blood is one of the most vital ways we bring our mission for others to life,” said Dr. Michael R. Lovell, president of Marquette University. “This friendly competition with Butler University is an opportunity to highlight the servant leadership on our campus. I strongly encourage the Marquette community to get involved in this critical endeavor.”

All blood collected in the competition will serve patients within their respective communities.

“There is nothing like a competitive challenge between two great BIG EAST foes to get the blood flowing, both metaphorically-speaking and in actuality,” said James Danko, president of Butler University. “We know there are many patients in need of blood within our Indianapolis community, and I have no doubt our Butler community will come up big for those in need.”

Attempting donors at three select blood drives on each campus will receive an exclusive Butler vs. Marquette competition t-shirt, and attempting donors at all drives will receive a variety of thank-you giveaways. For more information and to schedule an appointment, visit Versiti.org/BUVSMUBB.

 Donating Blood is Easy and Important:

• The donation process, including registration and testing, takes about an hour. Because blood and fluids are constantly replaced by your body, blood donation doesn’t take a major toll on the human body.
• Every two seconds, someone needs life-saving blood to survive. One donation can save up to three lives.
• There is no substitute for blood donation — blood cannot be manufactured.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.