Oct. 30, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Former University of Notre Dame football All-American and 1993 Lombardi Award winner Aaron Taylor will serve as the guest speaker for the 87th University of Notre Dame Football Banquet.
The banquet, sponsored by the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley, will be held Friday, Dec. 7, 2007, in the north dome of the Joyce Center on the Notre Dame campus. A reception and silent auction in the Monogram Room both begin at 5:45 p.m. EST and the dinner begins at 7:00 p.m.
The program will include a video tribute to the 2007 Irish squad – as well as a series of awards honoring members of the Notre Dame team.
Tickets are now on sale at $42 each (a table for eight is $336) and can be ordered at the Joyce Center second-floor ticket window, by phone (VISA, MasterCard or American Express) by calling 574-631-7356 (fax to 574-631-0854), or by writing to Ticket Office, 113 Joyce Center, Notre Dame, IN 46556.
Order forms also can be printed from Notre Dame’s athletic web site by clicking here. Checks should be made payable to University of Notre Dame Football Banquet. Requests must be received by Friday, Nov. 30, 2007. All tickets will be distributed through Joyce Center will call on the concourse on the night of the event (enter Gate 1).
Proceeds benefit the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Scholarship Fund.
A 6-4, 280-pound offensive tackle from Concord, Calif., Taylor played for the Irish from 1990-93, winning consensus All-America honors as a junior in ’92 and winning unanimous All-America recognition as a senior in ’93. He was a Lombardi Award finalist as a junior before winning the award as a senior – and he also was an Outland Trophy finalist as a senior.
Taylor started the last 30 games of his college career and served as a captain of the ’93 Notre Dame team. In his final season he won the Nick Pietrosante Award presented to the Irish player who best exemplifies the courage, dedication and pride of the former Irish fullback – and he also was selected the Notre Dame Lineman of the Year.
A first-round draft pick (16th overall selection) of the Green Bay Packers in 1994, he played four seasons in Green Bay, helping the Packers win the Super Bowl following the ’97 season. He also played two seasons for the San Diego Chargers and continues to live in the San Diego area.
Taylor is the 2007 recipient of the Harvey G. Foster Award, which is presented annually by the University of Notre Dame Alumni Association to an alumnus, often a former student-athlete, who has distinguished himself through civic or other University activities.
Taylor worked for both CSTV and ABC Sports as a color commentator for college football and then retired from broadcasting to devote time to his passion for philanthropy, including the Aaron Taylor IMPACT Fund, a non-profit organization that benefits programs for children in San Diego. After leaving professional football, Taylor earned a post-graduate degree in elementary education and, in 2001, participated in a volunteer placement program teaching English to high school students in South America. He also founded a project that built a community center and 40 temporary houses in the tsunami-ravaged village of Kosgoda, Sri Lanka. President of the NFL Players Association for Retired Players in San Diego, Taylor currently is organizing a mentor program for NFL rookies, active players and retired players, and recently received the 10News Leadership Award for his work in Sri Lanka, mentoring children and with athletes in transition.
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