Former Colt to Speak at Commencement

February 18, 2014

Jeff Saturday

Indianapolis Colts Super Bowl Champion (Super Bowl XLI)

NFL veteran and ESPN analyst Jeff Saturday will deliver the commencement address May 3 at Trine University.

Saturday joined ESPN in July 2013 after 14 years in the NFL. The center's career spanned 13 years with the Indianapolis Colts and a year with the Green Bay Packers in 2012. Saturday appears on "NFL Live" and "SportsCenter" and contributes to other ESPN platforms.?"Trine graduates are sure to be inspired by Jeff's motivational talk," said Earl D. Brooks II, Ph.D., Trine president. "Just as he excelled on the offensive line, Jeff is also a community leader who devotes time to worthy causes and organizations."

Saturday, who racked up a list of awards and honors as an NFL player, will be awarded the Doctor of Humane Letters by Trine.

The NFL star was a member of the Colts teams that won Super Bowl XLI (2007) and represented the AFC in Super Bowl XLIV (2010). He was named to the NFL All-Decade Team (2000-09) by Sporting News and achieved first-team All-Pro honors twice (2005, 2007). In 2007, he was also named the NFL Alumni Offensive Lineman of the Year after helping the Colts in its Super Bowl win.

Saturday played his final season in Green Bay in 2012. He earned his sixth Pro Bowl appearance there and helped the Packers grab the NFC North title. After the 2012 season, he signed a one-day contract with Indianapolis to officially retire as a Colt.

He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the National Football League Players' Association as a player. In 2011, he helped negotiate a long-term Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the NFL and NFLPA that ended the NFL lockout.

He is a native of Atlanta and attended the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where he earned a degree in business. The two-year captain and four-year letterman (1994-97) was named to the All-ACC first-team at center in 1996 and 1997, as well as the conference’s All- Academic team in 1997.

An active member of the Indianapolis community, Saturday supports Kids' Voice of Indiana, People's Burn Foundation of Indiana, the Riley Hospital for Children and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Trine University, an internationally recognized, private, co-educational, residential institution, offers associate, baccalaureate, and master degrees in programs to students in engineering, mathematics, science, informatics, business, teacher education, communication, criminal justice, golf management, social sciences, and various other fields of study.

Trine is a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and offers 21 varsity sports. Its golf program includes the university-owned 18-hole championship Zollner Golf Course. Founded in 1884 and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org), Trine operates a 450-acre main campus in Angola, Ind., and education resource centers throughout Indiana, Arizona and Michigan.

For more information on how to book Jeff Saturday for your next event, visit premierespeakers.com/jeff_saturday.

Source: Inside Indiana Business