Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame: Philip Rivers, one of the NFL's best
Jun. 4—Philip Rivers, legend of Athens, is to be inducted into the 2022 Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame, one of 10 members to be honored for their athleticism and character.
Rivers, of Athens High School, is a Limestone legend on the football field. Rivers attended North Carolina State for football, where he was at the helm from 2000 to 2003.
In 2000, the Wolfpack went 8-4 and defeated Minnesota in the MICRON PC Bowl. On the season he passed for 3,054 yards and 25 touchdowns.
He was Freshman of the Week eight times and was the ACC Freshman of the Year.
In 2001, the Wolfpack had a 7-5 record and Rivers led the ACC with a completion percentage of 65.2.
In 2002, Rivers captained the team to an 11-3 record, including nine wins in a row.
He was named MVP of the Gator Bowl after his performance against Notre Dame, where they won 28-6 thanks to him completing 23 of 37 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns.
In 2003, Rivers was named MVP of his bowl game again, after defeating Kansas in the Tangerine Bowl in a game where he threw for 475 yards and five touchdowns.
Over the course of his college career, Rivers was named to first team All- ACC, second team All-ACC, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Athlete of the Year and ACC Freshman of the Year.
Rivers started all 51 games during his career at N.C. State had his No. 17 jersey retired by the school.
Rivers was drafted fourth overall by the New York Giants, before being traded to the San Diego Chargers for Eli Manning. Both would go on to have Hall of Fame careers in the NFL.
Rivers played 17 seasons in the NFL, 16 for the Chargers and one season for the Indianapolis Colts.
He is the current coach of St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Ala.
The ceremony takes place on June 11 of next week, following the Martha Jo Leonard Memorial Golf Tournament taking place on June 9.
Look for more profiles of the 10 new inductees of the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame.
Rivers, John Wayne King and John Johnson are the first three profiles published in The News Courier for this class, with profiles on Venard Hendrix, Mary Fletcher, Adolph Cosby, Mike Davis, Rashad Harris, Danny Anderson and Walter Hill still to come before the start of next week's events.
Congratulations to each of the inductees of the 2022 class for the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame.
Updates will be provided online at enewscourier.com and in print editions of The News Courier regarding the commemorative golf tournament and subsequent HOF banquet induction ceremony.
