A touching tribute is being given to a fallen Huskie.

The Chicago Area Rugby Football Union has announced that their conference trophy, the Collegiate Cup, will be renamed to the Dan Parmenter Memorial Cup after the late Dan Parmenter.

“We are very honored that Dan’s membership with NIU’s Rugby Club and the guys had such a memorable effect, appreciating his participation on the team, whereby the board members of the Men’s Collegiate Chicago Area Rugby Footbal Union decided to rename the Cup trophy for Dan,” said Gary Parmenter, Dan’s father.

Parmenter was approached about the idea by NIU coach Andrew Anderson a few weeks ago at the Tournament of Champions in Sycamore.

“It brought joy to my heart to know that Dan is missed and cared for by his rugby buddies; the same as other groups of friends, sports teams or organizations that have renamed scholarship awards, recognition plaques and first place trophies in memory of Dan the past year,” Parmenter said. “We are very grateful to everyone who makes it possible for these blessings to occur, keeping Dan’s spirit alive.”

After hearing the idea, he was more than happy to sign on with the project.

“When friends, coaches, clubs, teams, fraternities and organizations think enough of Dan to honor him in a special way, you want to agree to accept their idea for remembering Dan because “giving to others” is an important part in the healing process, and I want his friends, coaches and teammates who also miss him, to find peace in doing something for their friend, as they go forward playing rugby without him,” Parmenter said.

Dan played football for seven years preceding his enrollment at NIU and decided to join rugby after not joining the football team.

“Rugby was a natural progression for his athletic adventures since he was not joining the college football team,” Parmenter said. “Dan understood the physical demands of rugby and dealt with a few minor injuries.”

This will be the only time the trophy will be contested during the spring. For the inaugural match, NIU and Northwestern will compete in the C.A.R.F.U. championship game for the Dan Parmenter Memorial Cup.

“We are very excited for this game and the Parmenter family,” said NIU Rubgy President Al Collins. “This is a very big honor for them. We’re definitely pumped for it and this is probably the biggest game that we will ever play.”

The game, which was supposed to be played Friday at the Chicago Blaze’s field in Lemont, was postponed due to wet fields and has yet to be rescheduled. The two teams are in talks of setting a date and, as of now, it is down to either May 8 or 16.

“This is huge for us,” Collins said. “We thought we were the best team in fall and now we can prove it.”

The winner will be presented the Parmenter Cup at halftime of the USA Eagles vs. Wales match at Toyota Park June 6.