Shuttered St. Joseph's College calls on Mike Ditka for help

Trading on the days when the Chicago Bears used to hold preseason camp on the Rensselaer campus, St. Joe’s – in the midst of trying to revive itself after closing in 2017 after 127 years as a small, liberal arts college – will bring in the former NFL coach and player as the featured attraction at the inaugural Purple Tie Dinner.

Money raised at the June 9 event will go to the renovation of Schwietermann Hall, a campus building that will be used as the first residence hall once plans to reopen St. Joe’s come together.

Bangert: New life for shuttered St. Joe's College, a year after closing?

The Bears held preseason camps at St. Joe’s from 1944 to 1974. Dikta was a tight end for the Bears from 1961 to 1966 and would have stayed in Drexel Hall, now being used as offices for the remaining St. Joe’s administrators since the rest of the campus was closed in summer 2017. During his coaching days with Chicago, the Bears held preseason camps at Lake Forest College in suburban Chicago or University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

“I enjoyed the people that I met as a Bear during the preseason workout camps in Rensselaer,” Ditka said in a statement via St. Joe’s. “They were good to me, and I look forward to seeing them again.”