NFL Four Time MVP to Speak at Spring Lecture
Since joining the Indianapolis Colts as the first overall pick in the 1998 draft, Peyton has earned his place among the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks. He earned NFL MVP honors in 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2009, becoming the only player in NFL history to be named MVP four times. Peyton has made eleven Pro Bowl appearances and been named to the Associated Press NFL All-Pro First Team five times, including three consecutive seasons from 2003-05.
Manning will be the keynote speaker for the Spring Distinguished Lecture Series, which will be held on Thursday, MARCH 29, 2012 at 7:00 P.M. at Tydings Auditorium in Hobbs. Tickets for the event are FREE, but required for admittance. You may reserve a ticket now by contacting Laurie Dean at University of the Southwest, 575-492-2108. Tickets will not be available for mail or at area ticket locations until mid-January, 2012.
Manning holds NFL records for consecutive seasons with over 4,000 yards passing and the most total seasons with 4,000 or more yards passing in a career. He is also the all-time Colts franchise leader in career wins, career passing yards, pass attempts, pass completions, and passing touchdowns. In 2009, Manning was listed by The Sporting News as the No. 1 player in the NFL and in the same year Fox Sports named him 'Player of the Decade'. In 2010, he was named the eighth best player in history during the NFL's Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players program, and is the only active player in the top 10 category.
On February 4, 2007, Manning led the Colts to a 29-17 victory over Chicago in Super Bowl XLI, winning MVP honors in the championship contest.
He has proven time and time again that he does whatever it takes to win a game…but doing whatever it takes is more than what is done on the field. Peyton considers his most important accomplishments to be those he has achieved off the field. In 1999, Peyton established The PeyBack Foundation to promote the future success of disadvantaged youth by assisting established programs that provide leadership and growth opportunities for children at risk. The Foundation funds various youth based organizations in Indiana, Louisiana and Tennessee and has distributed more than $5.5 million through grants and programs since its inception.
The PeyBack Foundation has also established the PeyBack Award which is presented to someone currently or formerly involved in professional football who exhibits character, integrity, honor and who has given back to the game and society. Past recipients of the PeyBack Award include Kurt Warner, Jim Kelly, Gale Sayers, Marshall Faulk, Derrick Brooks, Roger Staubach, Dan Marino and Connie Payton, wife of the late Walter Payton.
Since his arrival in Indianapolis, Peyton has had a longstanding relationship with St. Vincent’s Hospital. On September 5, 2007, in recognition of his ongoing commitment to giving back to children and the community, St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis renamed its children's hospital to "Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at St. Vincent". Peyton has demonstrated his commitment to children by establishing the “True Heroes” program, which provides monthly events and parties for pediatric patients. He has also made countless private visits to St. Vincent patients and families, participated in children’s holiday parties and served as a spokesperson for various child health and safety initiatives.
In recognition of his tremendous continuous contributions, Peyton was the recipient of the Henry P. Iba Citizen Athlete Award, USA Weekend’s Most Caring Athlete Award, the Bryon “Whizzer” White Humanitarian Award and was named the 2005 Walter Payton Man of the Year by the NFL. These distinguished honors serve as a reminder of all the good that Peyton and the PeyBack Foundation have done over the years and are an indication of all the good that will continue to be done for many years to come.
In 2009, Peyton and his brother Eli, along with their father Archie, co-authored a children's book entitled Family Huddle, which describes in simple text and pictures how the three Manning brothers played football as young boys.
Peyton Williams Manning was on born March 24, 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. During his tenure at the University of Tennessee, Peyton epitomized the term “student-athlete.” He claimed 43 records at the school, conference and national levels while graduating with Phi Beta Kappa honors. Peyton passed up the NFL after his junior season and the near-certain opportunity to be chosen first in the NFL Draft to remain in school for a fourth year and forever set him apart. He was a three-time Academic All-America honoree. Following his senior season, Peyton was honored with the Sullivan Award for the nation’s top amateur athlete based on character, leadership, athletic ability and the ideals of amateurism.