CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
Michael Irvin
Three-Time Super Bowl Champion of Dallas Cowboys & Pro Football Hall of Famer
Michael Jerome Irvin is the 15th of 17 children, born to Pearl and Walter Irvin. Pearl was a full-time mom; cleaning, cooking and taking care of home while Walter worked as a roofer, during the week, from sun-up to sun-down. On the weekends, Walter would drive to Georgia, where he was the Pastor of Mt.
Calvary Primitive Baptist Church. He was also called to pastor Greater Bethel Primitive Baptist Church in Ft. Myers, Florida. Michael loved and admired his father, who fell gravely ill while Michael was in high school. Visiting his father in the hospital, he vowed to always take care of his mother. The very next morning, Walter was called out of time to eternity to be with God.
Pearl enlisted the assistance of George Smith, the high school football coach at St. Thomas Aquinas in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to help convince Michael that quitting his passion of football to fulfill his promise would do very little at this time. Coming together, they decided that if Michael stuck to his dream, he could use the power of his promise to fuel him to greatness. From that day on, Michael would be great. He set many records at St. Thomas Aquinas High School before earning a full scholarship to the University of Miami. There, he was a record setting wide receiver and helped lift the 1987 Hurricanes to a National Championship. Selected as the 11th player to the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 1988 National Football League Draft, he quickly developed into one of the elite receivers in Cowboys and NFL history. He went on to shatter numerous Cowboys records, as well as breaking NFL records. Known as "The Triplets," Michael, alongside Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, won three Super Bowls during his career with the Cowboys. Voted to five Pro Bowls, his name was placed in the rafters for the Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2005. He was voted into the Pro-Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
After Michael's induction into the Hall of Fame, he continued to live out his promise. He has appeared in a number of movies including "The Comeback" and "Jack and Jill". He starred alongside Adam Sandler and Chris Rock in "The Longest Yard". He hung up his cleats, put on his dancing shoes and appeared in Season 9 of the hit television series "Dancing with the Stars". He got his feet wet with broadcasting by working for ESPN and receiving a Sports Emmy Award in 2006 for "Outstanding Studio Weekly Show" as a part of the "Sunday NFL Countdown" crew. Currently, Michael is a top analyst for the NFL Network, appearing on "Thursday Night Football" and Sunday mornings on "NFL Game Day Morning". He is a business man and philanthropist. He loves to inspire others, so he travels all around the country speaking to millions of people doing motivational and spiritual sharing.
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