Former NFL quarterback, Heisman Trophy recipient and football commentator Doug Flutie will speak on the importance of being a student athlete as this year’s keynote speaker for Flagler College’s annual Crimson & Gold Athletics Banquet.
To be held Oct. 6 in Flagler’s Ponce Hall, the event will begin at 6 p.m. with a social and a silent auction, followed by dinner and a live auction beginning at 7 p.m. Proceeds from the banquet benefit the Flagler College Athletics Scholarship Fund, which supports student athletes.
For more information on the Crimson & Gold Banquet or to purchase tickets, contact Director of College Relations Laura Stevenson Dumas at 904-819-6205 or collegerelations@flagler.edu.
Currently the lead analyst for NBC Sports Group’s coverage of Notre Dame Football, Flutie serves as an analyst for NBC Sports Group’s NFL shoulder programming, which includes Pro Football Talk on NBCSN.
The retired quarterback is perhaps best known for his famous “Hail Mary” pass that gave Boston College the win over the University of Miami in the 1984 Orange Bowl. He went on to play in the United States Football League and then the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots through the late 1980s. He then played in the Canadian Football League for eight years and was named the league’s “Most Outstanding Player” an unprecedented six times. In 1998 he signed with the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills, was selected for the NFL Pro Bowl and carried the Bills to the playoffs. At the age of 38, Flutie signed a contract with the San Diego Chargers to become their starting quarterback. After four seasons with the Chargers, he was offered the opportunity to finish his career with his hometown team, the New England Patriots.
Flutie achieved numerous honors during his college and professional football career, including All American at Boston College, College Football Player of the Year, 1984 Heisman Trophy Winner, and Grey Cup Most Valuable Player (1991-1994/1996/1997).
Flutie graduated from Boston College with degrees in Communications and Computer Science and is married to his high-school sweetheart, Laurie Flutie, and is the father of two children. He and his wife established the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism in 1998 in the name of their son Dougie, Jr., to help less-fortunate families who have children with autism. He also created the cereal Flutie Flakes, the proceeds from which benefit the foundation. The Flutie Foundation has raised more than $12 million for autism causes.
