OXFORD, Miss. – As part of BancorpSouth Grove Bowl festivities, the Chucky Mullins Courage Award Ceremony will be held the morning of the game, Saturday, April 13, and tickets are now on sale. Special guest will be 1997 award recipient and two-time Super Bowl participant Nate Wayne.
Emceed by the “Voice of the Rebels” David Kellum, the breakfast is set for 8:30 a.m. CT at the Jackson Avenue Center (the old Wal-Mart building), and tickets are available by visiting the OleMissSports.com ticket site or calling 888-REB-TKTS.
Tickets for the Chucky Mullins Courage Award Ceremony are $10 in advance and any remaining tickets will be $15 at the door. For more information or for event sponsorship opportunities for corporations and local businesses, contact Ole Miss Assistant Athletics Director Kyle Campbell at kyle@olemiss.edu or 662-915-7544.
Presented at the breakfast will be the 24th annual Chucky Mullins Courage Award, which goes to an upperclassman defensive player at Ole Miss who will have the honor of wearing Mullins’ No. 38 on the field during the 2013 football season.
The recipient, which is chosen by the Rebel coaching staff, will also be recognized during on-field ceremonies at the annual BancorpSouth Grove Bowl spring football game at 1 p.m. that afternoon at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/ Hollingsworth Field.
In addition to the announcement of this year’s award winner, attendees to the breakfast will hear from head coach Hugh Freeze and see video highlights of many former award winners offering their reflections on Chucky Mullins and the significance of the honor.
A four-year letterwinner at linebacker, Wayne played in every game for Ole Miss from 1994 through 1997 and earned the start 29 times. The Macon, Miss., native totaled 293 tackles as a Rebel before embarking on an eight-year NFL career, which included Super Bowl appearances in 1999 with the Broncos and 2005 with the Eagles.
Established in the Spring of 1990 by the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity at Ole Miss, the Chucky Mullins Courage Award honors the late Chucky Mullins, who had his Rebel football career come to an end during the 1989 Homecoming game against Vanderbilt when he was paralyzed after making a tackle. After returning to his studies at Ole Miss, Mullins passed away on May 6, 1991.
Past recipients of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award include Chris Mitchell (1990), Jeff Carter (1991), Trea Southerland (1992), Johnny Dixon (1993), Alundis Brice (1994), Michael Lowery (1995), Derek Jones (1996), Wayne (1997), Gary Thigpen (1998), Ronnie Heard (1999), Anthony Magee (2000), Kevin Thomas (2001), Lanier Goethie (2002), Jamil Northcutt (2003), Eric Oliver (2004), Kelvin Robinson (2005), Patrick Willis (2006), Jeremy Garrett (2007), Jamarca Sanford (2008), Marcus Tillman (2009), Kentrell Lockett (2010), D.T. Shackelford (2011) and Jason Jones (2012).
Other events surrounding the BancorpSouth Grove Bowl include the Rebels’ Choice Awards on Wednesday, April 11 at 7 p.m. at the Ford Center and a free concert with Grace Potter and special guest Jerrod Niemann on Friday, April 12 at 8:30 p.m. in The Grove. The Ole Miss baseball team hosts Alabama in a weekend series at Swayze Field, while the track & field and women’s tennis teams will also be in action on campus.