BECKLEY, W.Va. — 10-time Pro-Bowler and the NFL’s third all-time receptions leader Larry Fitzgerald will be the keynote speaker at the 28th Big Atlantic Classic Tipoff Banquet on Sunday, Jan. 29 at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.
The No. 3 pick in the 2004 NFL Draft out of Pitt – after winning the 2003 Fred Biletnikoff and Walter Camp Awards – Fitzgerald has had a fantastic professional career that has seen him rewrite the Arizona Cardinals’ record books. He’s the franchise’s all-time leader in receiving yards (14,389), receiving touchdowns (104) and receptions (1,125), but the Cardinals’ record books aren’t the only ones scattered with his name.
The 33-year-old Minneapolis, Minnesota, native also holds the NFL records for most touchdown receptions in a postseason (8), most receptions in a postseason (30) and most receiving yards in a postseason (546), all in 2008 when the Cardinals made a run to the Super Bowl before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Fitzgerald passed Marvin Harrison this season to rank third on the NFL’s all-time receptions list, behind only Jerry Rice and Tony Gonzalez.
“He’s as good as there is when it comes to football and the character of a great human being,” said West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, the Big Atlantic Classic Chairman. “He’s just a superstar. But he’s also a wonderful person, and I know he will bring a great message to the players, coaches and fans at the Big Atlantic Classic. I am most proud to call Larry a dear friend.”
Fitzgerald is known as much for his charity work off the field as he is for his dominance between the white lines. His mother, Carol, died of a brain hemorrhage while being treated for breast cancer in 2003, and Fitzgerald has since established the Carol Fitzgerald Memorial Fund, which supports issues that were important to his mother, such as educating urban youth about HIV and AIDS and support for breast cancer patients.
Fitzgerald also leads the Larry Fitzgerald First Down Fund, which helps kids and their families by providing positive activities for youth throughout the year and supporting kids and families in crisis.
Although he left school early to pursue his NFL career, Fitzgerald completed his undergraduate degree last year from the University of Phoenix, fulfilling a promise he made to his mother to get a college degree.
Fitzgerald is one of three finalists for this year’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, which recognizes athletes’ contributions to the sport and to society. The winner will be awarded $500,000 to the charity of his choice and $500,000 to supporting the expansion of Character Playbook across all NFL markets.
“The work he has done to help others is remarkable,” said Justice. “And he has done it right here in West Virginia. When the floods ravaged the state last June, he was one of the first to step forward to ask how he could help.”
Fitzgerald joins a long list of sports superstars to speak at the Big Atlantic Classic. Past speakers include Denny Hamlin, Sean Payton, Terry Bradshaw, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Cam Newton, Lou Holtz, Bill Walton, Larry Bird and many others.
The Big Atlantic Classic will run Jan. 30 through Feb. 4 and will include grade school, middle school and high school divisions, featuring both boys and girls teams from across West Virginia. A national game will also be part of the schedule pitting high school powers Oak Hill Academy and Blue Ridge School head-to-head on Wednesday, Feb. 1.