INDIANAPOLIS — Peyton Manning returned to the house that he built Friday night.
Manning was behind the Tennessee men’s basketball bench supporting the Vols in their Sweet 16 game against archrival Kentucky at Lucas Oil Stadium. Manning had an illustrious four-year career at UT, where he led college football in completions, attempts and completion percentage as a sophomore and then finished second in Heisman Trophy voting after his senior season.
Manning, 49, went on to be selected first overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1998 NFL Draft. He played 17 NFL seasons, including the first 13 with the Colts. He suffered a neck injury and did not play in 2011 before finishing his career with four seasons for the Broncos.
Manning built a Hall of Fame career and was a large reason for the Colts moving from the RCA Dome to Lucas Oil Stadium, host of the March Madness Midwest Region and 2026 Final Four. He played 24 regular-season games for the Colts in the building after it opened in 2008. He was 601 of 905 (66.4%) with 40 touchdowns, 19 interceptions and a 93.0 passer rating. He was 19-5, including 3-0 against the Tennessee Titans.
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And, Friday, he was hoping to add a Vols victory against the Wildcats. The second-seeded Vols lost twice to Kentucky during the regular season but, as they say, it’s hard to beat a team three times. The Vols led 27-17 with 7:57 left in the first half at publication. Follow the game here.
There’s a statue of Manning outside the building, which was unveiled Oct. 7, 2017.
“Look around us,” Indianapolis native David Letterman, his Santa beard bobbing this way and that, told a crowd of about 10,000 that day. The crowd had come from all over America — fans held signs saying they had come from Hawaii, New Jersey and Texas — to see the unveiling of the Peyton Manning statue and to cheer, once more, its namesake.
“This man here changed the skyline,” Letterman said. “It used to be a small town. He changed the skyline of the city.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Tennessee basketball: Peyton Manning makes March Madness visit vs Kentucky
