MANSFIELD, Pa. – The Mansfield Mountaineer sprint football team will host the annual Josh Palmer Pigskin Classic game on October 25 with the Mounties and Cornell University. This year's contest is the 25th anniversary of the Josh Palmer Fund and the 21st game of the Pigskin Classic between the two Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) members. 

The Josh Palmer Pigskin Classic started in 2001 and is named for former Mountaineer football player and assistant coach Josh Palmer who overcame Hodgkin's Disease to return to the gridiron. While he was undergoing treatment and recovery, Palmer started the Josh Palmer Fund to support area young adults afflicted by cancer. To date, the fund has raised nearly $1.6 million for cancer patients and their families across the Twin Tiers.

After his freshman season at Alfred University in 1999, Palmer was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. He made it his mission to help others as he fought and eventually beat his own battle with cancer in 2000, then he returned to Mansfield University to keep playing the game.

"Cornell, we played the last two years, and their coach at the time, Terry Cullen, who was a long, long-time coach there, and I said, 'Why don't we try to do this between the two of us?' Because we're close, the Palmer Fund focuses on both the Northern Tier and the Southern Tier, and we made it happen" said head coach John Evans.

Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at Karl Van Norman Field, with tickets set for $5 for adults and $3 for kids at the gates. All proceeds made will go back to the Josh Palmer Fund. 

To learn more about the Josh Palmer Fund, click HERE.