Former JCA student, Mount Carmel teacher Kevin Hansen to be honored before Friday night’s football game

When Joliet Catholic Academy and Chicago Mount Carmel get together on the football field, it has been a heated rivalry. And with good reason, as they are two of the most storied high school football programs in state history. They are tied for the most state championships with 15 apiece.

This time around, however, the hostilities may not be quite as bitter.

Before Friday night’s game between the two teams in Chicago, Mount Carmel plans to honor former theology teacher Kevin Hansen, who died in 2015 at age 33 after battling acute myelocytic leukemia. He died just seven days after being diagnosed.

Hansen, the son of Michael and Beth Hansen, was a 1999 graduate of Joliet Catholic Academy, where he was the valedictorian, Man of the Year and Student-Athlete of the Year (he played football and baseball for the Hilltoppers) for the Class of 1999.

He then attended the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 2003 summa cum laude with a degree in pre-professional science studies. He continued his education at Providence College in Rhode Island, graduating in 2005 with a master’s in education. He then entered the seminary at Conception Seminary College in Missouri in July 2005 and graduated in May 2007 with a master’s in theology.

Hansen began his eight years of teaching at Mount Carmel in August 2007. He taught theology and did multiple other assignments, including football equipment manager for the state championship football program, student service coordinator, after-school prefect and scoreboard operator at the home basketball games. Each year, he also supervised the Mount Carmel students on a trip to Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life.

Dan LaCount was the athletic director at Mount Carmel while Hansen was teaching there and was a driving force behind Friday night’s celebration. This is the first time the two schools will meet on the football field since Hansen’s death in 2015, and it will be televised on the Marquee Network.

“Kevin and his family had an annual golf outing, and the winner got a green jacket,” LaCount said. “We have named our Teacher of the Year trophy the Kevin Hansen Green Jacket Teacher of the Year. All of the past winners of that award will be at the ceremony and wearing the green jackets.

“Before the game, we have a little courtyard called The Huddle here on our campus. The JCA and Mount Carmel administrators and some alumni, the Hansen family and the Green Jacket winners, all will meet and have an upscale tailgate before the game. They will all go out for the coin toss at midfield before the game, and we will play a tribute to Kevin on the video board.

“It’s supposed to be a great night for football, and we can’t wait to bring these two tremendous Carmelite football programs and their fans together to unite behind a very special person that connects them.”

There also will be a new traveling trophy for the series, which will be inscribed with the words, “The Carmelite Classic in Honor of Kevin Hansen,” as well as the scores of the 37 games of the series so far. Each year they play, the score of the game will be added and the winning school will display the trophy in their school.

Hansen’s father, Mike, also is pleased with what has been planned.

“It’s a nice thing they are doing,” Mike Hansen said. “Even though Kevin was a JCA graduate, I believe he would be rooting for Mount Carmel in this one. He loved being there.

“It still hurts to have lost him, but it’s nice to see that he can still bring two old rivals like this together for a common cause.”