Archie Manning
Chairman, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Inc.

When people think of Archie Manning, they think football. But Archie’s appeal transcends his athletic achievements. People far and wide have been inspired by his warm personality, his drive and sense of humor. He 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, AstroTurf, 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.

Archie 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, Archie 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 and have three sons, Cooper, Peyton and Eli.

Mr. Manning joined the NFF Board of Directors in 1993 and became chairman in 2008.

Steven Hatchell
President & CEO, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Inc.

In January 2005, Steven J. Hatchell became president of The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Inc. (NFF), bringing with him more than 35 years of experience and a reputation as one of the top athletics administrators in the country today.

A career sports administrator, Mr. Hatchell joined the NFF after serving for six years as the commissioner of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Prior to the PRCA, Mr. Hatchell served as the first commissioner of the Big 12 Conference in Dallas, an entity he helped establish in 1995. While with the Big 12, Mr. Hatchell played a key role in negotiating the television contracts and bowl game formula that would make the conference one of the strongest in the nation today. During his time at the Big 12, he also served as the chairman of the Power of One, an NCAA promotional initiative to combine the marketing resources of collegiate sports into a unified force and led the Bowl Alliance as its chairman for six years.

From 1987-93, Mr. Hatchell headed the Orange Bowl as its executive director, landing Federal Express as its title sponsor, a landmark relationship that is still going strong today. Mr. Hatchell was director of sports information for the University of Colorado (CU) from 1976-77 before leaving to become an associate commissioner of the Big 8 Conference from 1977-83. He left to become the commissioner of the Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, a post he held from 1983-87. After his time at the Orange Bowl in 1993, he began a three-year stint as the commissioner of the Southwest Conference.

Mr. Hatchell has also served on several U.S. Olympic Committee boards and as part of the staff for three Olympic games. Mr. Hatchell graduated from CU with a journalism degree in 1970. He is married and has two sons.