Honored For a Life of Leadership
The Omicron Delta Kappa Society and Educational Foundation Board of Trustees have presented Archie Manning (University of Mississippi, 1970) as the 2025 recipient of the Laurel Crowned Circle Award. First presented in 1980, the Laurel Crowned Circle Award is the highest individual honor awarded by Omicron Delta Kappa. Recipients are exceptional leaders in their respective fields or are recognized for their service in advancing leadership development. Award winners also demonstrate the highest ideals of the Society—scholarship, service, integrity, character, and fellowship.
The award was presented on Thursday, September 25, 2025, at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford, Mississippi. Manning was initiated into Omicron Delta Kappa in 1970 and earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Ole Miss in 1971.
While widely celebrated for his remarkable athletic achievements and professional football career, Manning’s legacy extends far beyond the gridiron. His lifelong dedication to education, service, and community leadership has inspired generations. Whether through his charitable endeavors, mentoring young athletes, or promoting values of teamwork and integrity, Manning has consistently demonstrated the spirit of servant leadership that O∆K strives to recognize and honor.
A beloved figure both in sports and in civic life, Manning’s humility and commitment to excellence have earned him enduring respect. He continues to embody the principles of leadership, collaboration, and character that define the Laurel Crowned Circle Award.
Past recipients of the Laurel Crowned Circle Award include distinguished business leaders, scholars, nonprofit executives, journalists, academic administrators, and philanthropists—among them former U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, President of the United Negro College Fund Michael Lomax, former Congresswoman Donna Shalala, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, former Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, and numerous university presidents and philanthropists.
Founded in 1914 at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, recognizes and encourages achievement in scholarship, athletics, service, communications, and the arts. The Society continues to honor individuals whose lives exemplify leadership and integrity in every field of endeavor.
