ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --- The Gildan New Mexico Bowl is honored to announce Archie Manning as the guest speaker at the annual kickoff luncheon hosted by the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Albuquerque. The luncheon, which will be attended by the participating teams on Friday, Dec. 16 at 11:30 a.m., will be preceded by a press conference at 10:30 a.m.

“We are incredibly honored to be able to bring Archie to Albuquerque and have him be part of our event,” said Jeff Siembieda, New Mexico Bowl Executive Director. “Archie, and the entire Manning family epitomize all that is good about football and it is going to be quite a treat for everyone in attendance to listen to and meet a true legend.”
A very limited number of tickets are available to the public. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased by calling the Gildan New Mexico Bowl office at 505-925-5999.

Manning will also be available to the media after the 10:30 a.m. press conference.

The sixth annual Gildan New Mexico Bowl will kick off the collegiate bowl season for the third straight year, and is scheduled to pit a member of the Mountain West against a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Kickoff from University Stadium in Albuquerque, is slated for Saturday, Dec. 17. It will air on ESPN and ESPN HD at noon MST (2 p.m. EST).

About Archie Manning
Archie Manning, the National Football Foundation (NFF) Chairman and winner of the 23rd Francis “Reds” Bagnell Award for Contributions to Football, was recently selected Father of the Year by the National Father’s Day Council. He currently serves in public relations and consulting capacities for several local, regional and national companies, including Reebok, Gatorade, Direct TV and CBS Sports. For 25 years he hosted four Archie Manning Cystic Fibrosis benefit golf tournaments in Louisiana and Mississippi and is active in a wide variety of charitable and civic causes.

Manning was born May 19, 1949, in Drew, Mississippi. He attended the University of Mississippi where he was named an All-American Quarterback and is the only Ole Miss player to have his number retired. He was voted Mississippi's Greatest All-Time Athlete in 1992, and recently named Mississippi's Most Popular Athlete of the Century. He was elected to the 50-Year All-South Team (1940-1990), named one of the Top 25 Athletes of the Century in Louisiana and he and his son Peyton were named among the 100 All-Time Greatest College Football Players. Archie was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame and is a member of other Halls of Fame including Louisiana and Mississippi.

In 1971, he was the second player chosen in the NFL draft - the number one draft choice of the New Orleans Saints. He set Saints passing records, played in two Pro Bowls and was named the NFL Most Valuable Player in 1978. He was the first player in Saints history to be inducted into the Louisiana Superdome Wall of Fame. He concluded his 15-year career in 1985. He was also drafted four times by major league baseball. While in pro football, he received the Byron "Whizzer" White Humanitarian Award, the Bart Starr Humanitarian Award, the Spirit of Good Sports Award from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association and the U.S. Jaycees named him one of 10 Outstanding Young Americans. In 2005 Archie received the Legends award from the Davey O'Brien Foundation and the Aspire award, a tribute to life's coaches, from the Cal Ripken Foundation.

His community activities include Louisiana Special Olympics, the New Orleans Area Boy Scout Council, the Salvation Army, United Way Speakers Bureau, Allstate Sugar Bowl Committee, New Orleans Sports Foundation, and National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Board of Directors. Archie and his wife Olivia reside in New Orleans. They have three sons, Cooper, Peyton and Eli. Two of his sons, Peyton and Eli, are Super Bowl winning quarterbacks and Super Bowl MVP winners. Peyton plays for the Indianapolis Colts and Eli plays for the New York Giants.

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Collegiate FootballBeef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas); BBVA Compass Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas (Houston); MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.) and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards

Collegiate Basketball
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ESPNU Warrior Classic
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Hawaiian Islands Invitational (Soccer) and ESPN National Golf Challenge
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