FOX Sports CEO and Executive Producer Eric Shanks has put two of the network’s prominent sports figures on the spot, challenging former USC quarterback and 2004 Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart and five-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou to take part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
FOX Sports published the challenge Sept. 14 in a video posted to its official YouTube channel, identifying Leinart and Palou as the two people Shanks wants to see answer the call.
The challenge connects personalities from two of FOX Sports’ major properties. Leinart, who won the Heisman Trophy at USC in 2004, is part of FOX Sports’ college-football coverage and is associated with Big Noon Kickoff.
The Heisman Trophy organization confirms that Leinart became USC’s sixth Heisman winner after leading the Trojans through an undefeated regular season in 2004.
Palou, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the defining drivers of the modern INDYCAR SERIES. The official INDYCAR record lists the Barcelona-born driver as a five-time series champion, with titles in 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
His 2026 championship made him only the second driver in series history to win four consecutive titles, joining Sébastien Bourdais.
The challenge arrives at a particularly notable moment for Palou. INDYCAR announced Aug. 30 that he had clinched his fifth championship, highlighting a 2026 season in which he had recorded six victories and eight pole positions.
For Shanks, the challenge also reflects the intersection of FOX Sports’ expanding INDYCAR and college-football operations.
FOX Sports became the U.S. television home of INDYCAR beginning with the 2025 season, bringing the series onto the network across its broadcast and digital platforms.
Shanks has been FOX Sports’ CEO and Executive Producer since 2010.
According to his official FOX Sports biography, he oversees the company’s sports television, digital, production, programming and related operations.
He originally joined FOX Sports in 1994, the network’s inaugural NFL season.
A challenge with a larger purpose
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge became a global phenomenon in 2014, using social media and the simple act of pouring ice water over one's head to raise awareness and money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS.
The ALS Association says the 2014 campaign generated 17 million videos across 159 countries, accumulated approximately 10 billion views, and raised about $220 million.
The organization credits the campaign with dramatically increasing awareness and helping accelerate research into ALS.
The campaign originated through a series of personal connections within the ALS community before spreading rapidly through social media.
The ALS Association's history of the challenge traces its early development to Jeanette Senerchia, Pat Quinn and Pete Frates, whose networks helped transform the activity into a worldwide fundraising and awareness campaign.
More than a decade later, the challenge remains a recognizable fundraising and awareness vehicle for ALS organizations.
Leinart and Palou now have the call
Shanks' public challenge puts the next move in the hands of Leinart and Palou.
Tags
sports