Todd Blackledge and Jeff Rutledge Headline 2018 Jared Birmingham Bowl’S Monday Morning Quarterback Club Team Dinner
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Immediate Release Contact: Heather Jeffcoat Burton Advertising [email protected] 205-515-1972 TODD BLACKLEDGE AND JEFF RUTLEDGE HEADLINE 2018 JARED BIRMINGHAM BOWL’S MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK CLUB TEAM DINNER BIRMINGHAM, AL – The Monday Morning Quarterback Club Team Dinner will be held at the Sheraton Birmingham Ballroom on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. Former Penn State quarterback and current ESPN play-by-play commentator Todd Blackledge will be keynote speaker, and former University of Alabama and NFL quarterback Jeff Rutledge will be honored as the 2018 Golden Flake Legend of Birmingham. The 2018 Jared Birmingham Bowl will feature the University of Memphis Tigers and the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons on Saturday, Dec. 22, at 11 a.m. at historic Legion Field, on ESPN. The Tigers and Demon Deacons football teams will attend the dinner. During the dinner, there will be a Q&A with the head coaches. Individual tickets are available for $75, and tables are available for $750. Tickets can be reserved by contacting the Monday Morning Quarterback Club office at 205-251-8423 or by emailing [email protected]. Todd Blackledge has been a staple of ESPN’s college football coverage since returning to ESPN and ABC in 2006, calling primetime games regularly during the season. Dating back to 2006, Blackledge has called 10 national championships on ESPN Radio. He joined the broadcasting ranks following his playing career, working for a variety of outlets before joining ABC and later CBS. He re-joined ESPN and ABC for the 2006 season, as an established, astute voice calling the sport’s marquee games. In total, Blackledge is now in the midst of his 28th season behind a mic. As a player at Penn State, Blackledge excelled on and off the field. A three-year starter for the Nittany Lions, he lead his squad to a 29-4 record and the 1982 national championship while also winning the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s most outstanding QB in the process. Blackledge was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs seventh overall in the 1983 NFL Draft, beginning a seven-year NFL career in which time, he threw for more than 5,200 yards and 29 touchdowns. The Jared Birmingham Bowl and Golden Flake annually recognize current or former Birmingham residents who distinguished themselves throughout their athletic career as the Golden Flake Legend of Birmingham. Former honorees include Pat Sullivan (2006), Johnny Musso (2007), Mike Kolen (2008), Bobby Humphrey (2009), Bobby Bowden (2010), Al Del Greco (2011), Jack Crowe (2012), Tony Nathan (2013), Mike Fuller (2014), Major Ogilvie (2015), Joe Cribbs (2016), and Cornelius Bennett (2017). The 2018 Golden Flake Legend, Jeff Rutledge, was born and raised in Birmingham. A member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, Rutledge earned back-to-back state titles at Banks High School where he was a member of the 1974 High School All-American team. After graduation, he played for the University of Alabama where he was a member of three SEC Championship teams under Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. He was the starting quarterback, leading Alabama to two Sugar Bowl appearances finishing with a #2 National ranking in 1977 and winning the National Championship in 1978. Rutledge earned All-SEC honors in 1978 and 1979. Drafted in 1979, he played 14 seasons for three different NFL teams, including the Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, and Washington Redskins. During his NFL career, he won two Super Bowls; one each with the Giants and Redskins. Tickets for the 13th annual Jared Birmingham Bowl are on sale now. Ticket pricing is $50 for East and West reserved sideline seating and $30 for general admission corner seats. For information on corporate packages and branding opportunities, contact Mark Meadows at [email protected] or 205-733- 3776, extension 102. For more Jared Birmingham Bowl information, visit www.birminghambowl.com. For up-to-the-minute information, please follow our social handles on Facebook.com/birminghambowl, Twitter and Instagram. xxx ESPN Events ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of 32 collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; FCS opening-weekend game; 15 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, a college softball event and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 375-plus hours of live programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 800,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans. ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program. For more information, visit the official website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages. Local Media Contact: Heather Jeffcoat, 205-515-1972 or [email protected] ESPN Media Contact: Anna Negron at 860-766-2233 or [email protected]; @ItsAnnaNegron .