Octagon Speakers

• Wade Boggs
• Bob Bowman
• Brad Daugherty
• Thomas Dimitroff
• Nancy Lieberman
• DeMaurice Smith
• Emmitt Smith
• Bart Starr

Wade Boggs

World Series Champion, First Ballot Hall of Fame Inductee

Wade Boggs’ major league career was a regimented, meticulous, disciplined journey, taken day by day and step by step across 18 years. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame as the 41st first-ballot honoree in Hall history when they resoundingly welcomed Boggs in early 2005. Boggs spent 11 All-Star seasons with the Red Sox in Boston (1982-92). He duplicated his success with the New York Yankees and helped them win a World Series title in 1996. After a short break, Boggs finished his career with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and reached his 3,000th career hit with the organization August 7, 1999. Individual honors included 12 consecutive All-Star appearances (1985-96); five batting titles (1983, 1985-88); and two Gold Gloves (1994-95). Wade’s Hall of Fame credentials were never in doubt. Wade finished his career with a .328 batting. Heavily involved in giving back, the Wade Boggs Foundation for Youth Athletics provides fundraising to help children in the Tampa area acquire sports...

Bob Bowman

Renowned Swimming Coach of Michael Phelps

Coaching the best American swimmer to Olympic greatness might not be easy, but it has been worth it.  Bob Bowman achieved great success at the international level as personal coach for the Olympic Legend Michael Phelps. Under the passionate coaching of Bowman, Phelps won an Olympic-record eight gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, bringing Phelps' total to 14 Olympic golds overall.  Bowman's contribution to the sport has been awarded with the USA Swimming Developmental Coach of the Year and the ASCA Coach of the Year Award.  Not one to rest on his laurels, Bowman has already turned his focus to the London Games in 2012 and will surely have Phelps poised to continue his great success.

Brad Daugherty

TV Analyst, NASCAR Owner, Former Basketball Star

Brad Daugherty is a former star basketball player at the University of North Carolina and later with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. A five-time All-Star, Daugherty was taken first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1986 NBA Draft. During his professional career, he played in 41 postseason games and led the Cavaliers as far as the Eastern Conference Finals in 1992. After retiring due to recurrent back troubles, Daugherty served as a basketball analyst for ESPN. Having both a love for hoops and car racing, Daugherty changed gears in 2007 and became a NASCAR analyst for ESPN. He is a regular on the NASCAR Countdown program that precedes all NASCAR  race telecasts and is an analyst on the daily NASCAR Now show. He is also part-owner of JTG Daugherty Racing and Tony Kostelnak Racing.

Thomas Dimitroff

General Manager of the Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff has been named NFL Executive of the Year by the Sporting News. Known for his forceful yet charming personality, Thomas Dimitroff has reshaped manager positions in football.  Not one to shy away from a challenge, general manager Dimitroff rebuilt the Atlanta Falcon franchise when no one else dared to. The team was plagued with several controversies from quarterback Michael Vick facing dog-fighting charges to coach Bobby Petrino abruptly quitting to take a coaching position at the University of Arkansas in 2007. Even so, Dimitroff rose to the occasion and as a result, has orchestrated the turnaround of the team in just one season. With his experience as a standout defensive back and captain at the University of Guelph coupled with his ascension through the scouting trails as a combine/BLESTO Scout, an Area Scout, National Scout, College Director of Scouting to his current position, Dimitroff has the knowledge  and passion to...

Nancy Lieberman

Olympian, Broadcaster, and Author

On November 5th, 2009 Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman added a new piece of history to her already illustrious career when she was hired as the Texas Legends' first Head Coach. Lieberman, widely considered one of the most influential figures in women’s basketball history, is the first female head coach to lead an NBA or NBA D-League team. Nancy began coaching the Legends in November 2010. She even led the Legends to the playoffs in her first year. Lieberman then went on to become the Assistant General Manager of the Legends, a position which she currently holds. In addition to her many sports related accomplishments, Lieberman wrote her first business book “Playbook for Success” by Wiley Publishing in 2010. Nancy Lieberman made history again when she signed with the WNBA's Detroit Shock in July of 2008. She became the oldest player to ever play in the history of the league at the young age of 50. This breaks the previous record of 39 years old which Nancy established as a...

DeMaurice Smith

Executive Director of the NFL Players Association

DeMaurice Smith was elected by the Board of Player Representatives in March 2009 as the new Executive Director of the NFL Players Association. Previously, he was a trial lawyer and litigation partner at D.C. law firm Patton Boggs, where he concentrated on white-collar criminal defense and tort liability trials.  He was also Chair of the firm's Government investigations and White-Collar Practice Group.  He has argued numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.  In addition, he has defended individuals in high profile criminal cases and Congressional investigations while also representing Fortune 500 companies in criminal and complex civil cases, compliance matters, and internal investigations.  He also represented Halliburton, Shell Motor Company and Ford Motor Company during his career. Currently, Smith serves as the voice of all the league’s players in his new role as...

Emmitt Smith

Hall of Fame Running Back, NFL MVP, Dancing with the Stars Champion

Emmitt Smith is the National Football League's all-time leading rusher, a three-time Super Bowl champion, and a member of the 2010 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  A first-round pick in the 1990 NFL Draft, Smith was the cornerstone of the Dallas Cowboys' offense for 12 seasons. The eight-time Pro Bowler was the first player in NFL history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in 11 consecutive seasons and on October 27, 2002 he surpassed Walter Payton as the NFL's all-time leading rusher. Smith finished his 14-year career with 18,355 rushing yards and led the NFL in rushing four times; he was the league MVP in 1993, MVP of Super Bowl XXVIII and helped guide the Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles. His 175 total touchdowns rank second in NFL history. Smith played his final two NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals (2003 and 2004) before signing a one-day contract in February 2005 so he could officially retire as a Cowboy. In September 2005, Smith was added to the Cowboys Ring...

Bart Starr

Hall of Fame Quarterback

In the early days of football, Bart Starr led his teams to numerous Championships.  Bart Starr was the man who made the Packers click and he will always be respected for his hardworking attitude and perseverance.  From 1960 through 1967, Bart's "won-lost record" was a sizzling 62-24-4 and the Packers won six divisional, five NFL, and the first two Super Bowl championships.  He held several NFL passing records, including the lifetime record of completing 57.4 percent of his passes over a 16-year period. He led the league in passing three times. Starr used his astuteness and skill to lead the Packers to the NFL titles and two Super Bowl Championships.  In 1977, Starr was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame and is still considered one of the NFL's greatest field leaders, even today. Outside of football, Starr has won a number of awards, including NFL Award for Citizenship and the Byron White Award. Today, he runs Healthcare Realty Management and is Co-Founder of the Rawhide Boys...