Pete Bevacqua among those being honored at 33rd Annual March of Dimes Sports Luncheon

New York – Two-time Super Bowl Champion and five-time league MVP, Peyton Manning, the most prolific quarterback in NFL history, and WNBA great Swin Cash, who has won championships at the collegiate, professional and Olympic level, will be honored with the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Award, respectively, by the March of Dimes Greater New York Market at its 33rd Annual Sports Luncheon on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. Pete Bevacqua, CEO of the PGA of America, and George Pyne, Founder and CEO of Bruin Sports Capital, will be honored with the Sports Leadership and Corporate Leadership Awards, respectively.

Each year, March of Dimes honors the outstanding achievements of men and women in the sports industry. Past recipients include New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera, NHL Hall of Famer Mark Messier, NBA Commissioner David Stern, baseball greats Mickey Mantle and Cal Ripken, Jr., tennis legends Andre Agassi and Venus Williams, basketball Hall of Famers Patrick Ewing and Lisa Leslie, and the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team.

Beginning with the 2016 luncheon, Ford will be designated as Presenting Sponsor of the event, which is attended by more than 700 leaders and influencers in the sports business industry.

Manning, the NFL’s only five-time Most Valuable Player and a 14-time Pro Bowl selection, has earned his place among the greatest quarterbacks in league history as the career leader in nearly every statistical passing category. In his final NFL season, Manning led the Denver Broncos to a 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, making him the first starting quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different teams. Since entering the NFL in 1998 with the Indianapolis Colts as the first overall draft pick, Manning set NFL records for the most career touchdown passes in addition to ranking first all-time in wins by a starting quarterback (200), completions and passing yards. In his first year with the Broncos in 2012—and after missing the entire 2011 campaign with a neck injury—Manning finished as the Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year and runner-up for the league’s MVP. During his 14 seasons with the Colts, Manning set club records in nearly every career passing category. He led the franchise to its first Super Bowl title in 36 years during the 2006 season, earning MVP honors in the Colts’ 29-17 win over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI. During his time at the University of Tennessee, he led the Vols to an SEC Championship as a senior in 1997 and earned consensus All-America honors. For his actions off the field, Manning was honored as the recipient of the Byron “Whizzer” White Humanitarian Award and the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2005 as well as the Bart Starr Award in 2015. Manning serves as a member of the American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet and The Pat Summit Foundation Advisory Board. He and his wife, Ashley, established the PeyBack Foundation in 1999 to promote the future success of disadvantaged youth by assisting programs that provide leadership and growth opportunities for children at risk. Manning’s father, Archie, was an All-American at the University of Mississippi and had a 14-year playing career in the NFL. His brother, Eli, who also attended Ole Miss, was named the MVP of Super Bowls XLII and XLVI with the New York Giants.

Cash exploded onto the international sports scene in 2002, her rookie year in the WNBA. Currently playing for the WNBA's New York Liberty, Cash has announced that she will retire at the end of the 2016 season. Selected as the Number Two overall pick in the 2002 draft, it didn't take long for Cash to rack up awards and accolades. She is a five time WNBA All-Star, two-time WNBA All-Star MVP, and a three time WNBA Champion. Cash also is a two time Olympic Gold Medalist and was voted 'Dapper Dan Sportswoman of the Year' in both 2003 and 2007. In 2016, Cash was honored by the WNBA as one of the top 20 Greatest and Most Influential Players in League History. She has also been VP of the WNBA Player’s Association for more than a decade. Away from the court, Cash is a broadcaster for CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Turner and MSG Network. Collegiately, she was a four-year member of the UCONN Women's Basketball Team, twice winning the NCAA National Title and leading the Huskies to a 136-9 record during her tenure in Storrs, CT. She was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 2002, and played on the Kodak All-American First Team. She graduated in 2002 with a degree in communications science. There's more to Swin Cash than just points and rebounds. She is the Founder of Swin Cash Enterprises, LLC and the Founder of Cash Building Blocks, LP, an urban development company that renovates and offers affordable homes for low income families. As if that wasn’t enough, the McKeesport, Pennsylvania native, is the founder of Cash for Kids, which has helped thousands of children across the nation with a particular focus on fitness.

As CEO of the PGA of America, Bevacqua guides the decisions of one of the world’s largest sports organizations, serving the Association’s 28,000 PGA Professionals. Under Bevacqua’s leadership, in 2014, the PGA designed and implemented a long-term strategic plan, focused on the Association’s two-pronged mission: to serve the PGA member and to grow the game. In October 2013, he successfully negotiated a transformational 15-year media rights extension through 2030 with NBC Sports Group for the Ryder Cup, KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and PGA Professional Championship. Additionally, Bevacqua spearheaded the addition and renewal of key official patron sponsors and partners—such as Mercedes-Benz USA, OMEGA, Samsung, KitchenAid, National Car Rental and Chase—while working hand-in-hand with Ryder Cup Europe to establish the Ryder Cup’s first Worldwide Partner in Standard Life Investments. Bevacqua also helped lead efforts to develop and co-chair the Ryder Cup Task Force, created in 2014 to examine the entire Ryder Cup process. In 2015, Bevacqua orchestrated an unprecedented partnership between the PGA, LPGA and KPMG to launch the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the first women’s major championship in the PGA of America’s history. In conjunction with the Championship, a leadership summit was also launched to encourage women to use golf in furthering their careers. Bevacqua also facilitated relationships with state and local governments to bring the PGA Championship to historic public facilities at Bethpage Black in New York (2019) and San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park (2020). Before joining the PGA in 2012, Bevacqua served as Global Head of Golf at Creative Artists Agency (CAA Sports). Prior to that, he was Chief Business Officer for the United States Golf Association (USGA), where he was responsible for all revenue and commercial activities.

Pyne is an international business executive and founder of Bruin Sports Capital, an investment firm that utilizes private funds to acquire and build the most innovative businesses across the global sports, entertainment, media and lifestyle landscape. Since its founding eighteen months ago, Bruin’s portfolio of companies has grown to include more than 1,000 employees across twenty-four offices in nine countries, and spans three powerful core platforms – Experiences & Hospitality, Marketing Services and Sports Media & Technology. Pyne is also Non-Executive Chairman of Courtside Ventures, a venture capital fund launched by Bruin that invests in early stage technology and media companies with a focus on sports. From 2006 to 2014, Pyne was the President of IMG Sports and Entertainment and a member of its board of directors. He was the driving force behind the earnings growth that resulted in the $2.4 billion sale of IMG to William Morris Endeavor from Forstmann Little's initial investment of $750 million. Prior to IMG, Pyne was Chief Operating Officer of NASCAR and the second non-family member in 50 years to join its Board of Directors. During his 11-year tenure, NASCAR emerged as a dominant force in North American sports. Pyne has raised equity capital as a result of his 25-year track record and reputation as a leader and value creator. He created billions of dollars in shareholder value for NASCAR and IMG combined, and recruited and led talented executives to transform both companies. Pyne has been recognized as one of the most influential people in professional sports by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, The Sporting News and the Sports Business Journal. He is a member of the Sports Business Journal’s Hall of Fame and the National Football Foundation’s Leadership Hall of Fame.

For reservations to the luncheon, please contact March of Dimes at 212-353-1012 or nhirji@marchofdimes.org.      
     
The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. For more than 75 years, moms and babies have benefited from March of Dimes research, education, vaccines, and breakthroughs. For the latest resources and health information, visit our websites marchofdimes.org and nacersano.org. Find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.