SELINSGROVE , PA -- The Susquehanna University Quarterback Club kicks off its weekly luncheon meetings on Friday at noon, one day before the Crusaders open the 2006 season against Ursinus.

The luncheons will be held each Friday beginning at noon in the Apple Community Room of the James W. Garrett Sports Complex on the Susquehanna campus. No luncheon will be held on September 22 as the Crusaders do not play the following day.

As in past years, the luncheons will feature the team's weekly Gus Weber Crusader Football Player of the Week, sponsored by the Golden Corral Family Steak House on Routes 11 and 15 in Hummels Wharf. The award is named in honor of the late Susquehanna president Gustave Weber, who was Susquehanna president for more than 18 years from 1959 through 1977. A collegiate football standout at Wagner College , Weber was an avid Crusader athletics booster who actually served as head football coach for the final two games of 1965.

Golden Corral will once again present $100 each week in the name of the Gus Weber Crusader Player of the Week to that player's favorite charity. This is the ninth year Golden Corral has sponsored the program, with donations totalling $7,800 to charities in its first eight seasons.

The Player of the Week will be featured each week on WQSU-FM's “Coach's Corner Show,” which airs 20 minutes before the station begins its live on-site coverage of Crusader football, and will also be the guest speaker each Friday at Quarterback Club, where former Crusader player and Golden Corral Manager Ron Laniewski, will present him the $100 check for the charity of his choice.

Head coach Steve Briggs will speak about his 2006 Crusaders at Friday's luncheon, as the team returns 39 letterwinners and 17 starters from last year's squad.

The meetings are open to the public and cost $8.50 each week for lunch. Quarterback Club membership for the year is $35, and members will receive tickets to the club's annual post-season awards banquet.

More details concerning the Quarterback Club may be obtained by calling the Susquehanna Athletic Office at (570) 372-4270.