Retired Ohio State coach Urban Meyer to keynote speech. Courtesy photo
Grambling State University will host the inaugural event for a new program called “Legacy Keepers: Preserving the Eddie Robinson Playbook,” on March 21 at 7 p.m. in the Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
The speaker will be Urban Meyer. Meyer, who retired from coaching after the 2018 season, spent seven years leading Ohio State football program where he compiled a record of 83-9. Prior to his success at Ohio State, Meyer coached at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida.
Meyer won two national championships at the University of Florida and one at Ohio State.
“We are very excited to have Urban Meyer on our campus and have him as a guest speaker, “ Grambling State head football coach Broderick Fobbs said in a statement. “Coach Meyer is a well-respected coach across the nation and has won numerous championships. It is an honor to bring him on the campus, not just to see Grambling State, but to see the history and legacy of what Eddie G. Robinson has built.”
The special event is in part of the continuing celebration of Eddie Robinson’s 100th birthday.
Robinson spent 55 years as head football coach at Grambling State University, starting in 1941 when he was hired by college president and head baseball coach Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones.
There have been previous programs to promote and extend the legacy of Coach Robinson, including the The Robinson Leadership Lecture Series sponsored by The Heritage Group.
Meyer joins a long list of notable athletic leaders featured at Eddie Robinson events including, James “Shack” Harris and Everson Walls.
The community is invited to attend the free event.
Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the program will begin at 7 p.m.
VIP Reception packages are available to a very limited number. VIP ticket holders can enjoy a meet and greet with Coach Urban Meyers and special seating at the Legacy Keepers program.
Meyer won more than 90 percent of his games as the Buckeyes’ head coach. The Ohio native won 187 games during his career as an FBS head coach, the most through 17 seasons in major college football history. His 187 wins are the most in FBS since 2001, just ahead of Nick Saban who has 185 over the same period of time.
Meyer and Saban are the only head coaches in the modern FBS era to win national championships at multiple schools.
Meyer is currently serving as the assistant athletic director of Ohio State and co-teacher of Leadership and Character in Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business.
Meyer is a 1986 graduate of University of Cincinnati where he played defensive back.
He received his master’s in sports administration from Ohio State University in 1988.