SEC
Men’s College Basketball
Peyton Manning is one not to shy away his Tennessee fandom.
That includes showing up to No. 2 seed Tennessee basketball’s Sweet 16 game of the men’s NCAA Tournament against their SEC foe, No. 3 seed Kentucky.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer was seen on TBS’s broadcast sitting in the stands at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in the first half, rooting on the Vols, also showing emphatic excitement for a 3-pointer from Zakai Zeigler.
REQUIRED READING: Tennessee vs Kentucky live updates: Heated SEC rivals battle in Sweet 16
A win for the Vols would send Rick Barnes’ squad back to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season. Here’s what you need to know on why Manning is at the Tennessee-Kentucky Sweet 16 game on Friday:
FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA men’s tournament bracket, scores, schedules, teams and more.
Why is Peyton Manning at Tennessee-Kentucky Sweet 16 game?
Though Manning appears to be a college basketball fan, he’s taking in Friday’s Midwest Region Sweet 16 game as a fan of Tennessee, his alma mater.
He has been a presence at other Tennessee sporting events over the last year, including Tennessee baseball’s run to the College World Series in past June, when the Vols clinched the national championship.
It’s also a return to one of his old NFL stomping grounds, as the game is being held at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, for whom he played 13 of his 17 NFL seasons.
Where did Peyton Manning go to college?
Manning attended Tennessee to play college football — a decision by the now Pro Football Hall of Famer that broke off from his family history of playing at Ole Miss. His dad, Archie, and younger brother, Eli, both played college football for the Rebels, an SEC foe for the Vols.
Over the course of his four-year career in Knoxville for the Vols, Manning quickly became one of the all-time greatest players in Tennessee history. Drafted by the Indianapolis Colts with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft, Manning finished his career at Tennessee with a 39-6 record, 11,201 passing yards and 89 passing touchdowns.
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