Rocky Bleier, the former Notre Dame and Pittsburgh Steelers running back who played for four Super Bowl title teams and whose inspiring story has made him one of the top motivational speakers in the country, will be the featured speaker at University of St. Francis' 33rd Annual Brown and Gold Night on Thursday, October 15, at the school's Recreation Center in Joliet.

Bleier's appearance will mark the second time in the last three years that a football great has been the Brown and Gold's featured guest. NFL Hall of Famer and legendary Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka made his second stop as the guest speaker in front of a record crowd in 2007. The coming event will also mark the third time in the last five years that the keynote speaker has ties to Notre Dame. Former Fighting Irish and Bears' All-Pro lineman (and Joliet native) Tom Thayer shared the speaker's podium in 2005 while then-Notre Dame Director of Athletics Kevin White handled the speaking duties in 2006.

The long list of notable speakers who have made the Brown and Gold one of the finest annual events in the Chicagoland area also includes longtime Marquette University basketball coach and network television analyst Al McGuire (1977, ‘87), basketball coaching legend John Wooden (1978), Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Dick Butkus (1980), two-time Super Bowl MVP Bart Starr (1994), former DePaul coaching legend Ray Meyer (1979), college baseball's all-time winningest coach and USF's own Gordie Gillespie (1996) and Olympic wrestler and coach Dan Gable (2002). 

Bleier's life story is not your typical one. He graduated from Notre Dame in 1968 after completing a fine college football career. He was a member of the Fighting Irish's 1966 national championship squad and served as team captain as a senior in 1967.

He was an 18^th-round draft choice of the Steelers and played as a rookie in 1968. Following the '68 season, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and shipped out to Vietnam in May 1969. In August of that year he was injured in combat and told that he would never play football again.

But Bleier was not one to give up. Following his discharge from the Army, he worked himself into shape and rejoined the Steelers just one year after being wounded. He eventually earned his way into the starting backfield, alongside Steelers' legend Franco Harris, and was an integral part of four Super Bowl-winning Pittsburgh teams. He retired in 1980.

"We are honored to have Rocky Bleier as our featured speaker at this year's Brown and Gold," says USF Athletics Chairman and Brown and Gold co-founder Pat Sullivan. "His message is a special one and will be one that patrons of the Brown and Gold and newcomers to our dinner will not want to miss. We are honored to have Rocky, a champion both on and off the football field, visit us and deliver an address that will inspire and entertain all of us in attendance.

"It also gives us a great opportunity to honor and recognize Rocky and our other military veterans that have made this country the greatest in the world," says Sullivan.

The annual fundraiser begins with a cash bar at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. and the program at 8:30 p.m. There will also be a silent auction.

Tickets for tables of ten are available for $450 and can be purchased by contacting the St. Francis athletics department at 815-740-3464.