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Ole Miss is putting up a statue for Archie Manning outside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The school made the announcement Monday, and the statue will sit just south of the stadium, right between the field and the Olivia and Archie Manning Performance Center.
Manning ran the show at quarterback for Ole Miss from 1968 to 1970. During those three seasons, he threw for 4,753 yards and added another 823 yards on the ground. His 56 total touchdowns still sit at sixth all-time in school history, which says a lot considering how much college football has changed since then.
He picked up All-SEC honors in both 1969 and 1970. He also earned second-team All-American recognition in 1969, and finished third in Heisman Trophy voting the following year.
Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter didn’t hold back when talking about what Manning means to the program.
“Archie Manning is one of the most iconic figures in the history of Ole Miss and a person whose impact extends far beyond the football field,” Carter said in a statement. “His legacy as an Ole Miss Rebel, a leader, and a role model inspired generations of student-athletes, alumni, and fans. We are proud to honor Archie with a statue on our campus, where his remarkable story began, and to create a lasting tribute that will remind future generations of what he has meant to Ole Miss and to our entire university community.”
The NFL Draft came calling in 1971, and the New Orleans Saints grabbed Manning with the No. 2 overall pick. He’d go on to become just as beloved in New Orleans as he was in Oxford, playing 13 seasons in the NFL and making two Pro Bowls before hanging it up after the 1984 season.
A Legacy That Never Left Oxford
Manning got inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989. Ole Miss retired his No. 18 jersey too, the first time the school had ever done that for a player.
He never really left, though.
Manning and his wife, Olivia, have stayed heavily involved with the Rebels program long after his playing days ended. Their son Eli continued the family tradition, becoming a program legend himself during his run from 2000 to 2003.
Manning’s loyalty to Ole Miss shows up in other ways too. When Lane Kiffin told Vanity Fair earlier this offseason that Oxford’s lack of diversity made recruiting tougher, Manning pushed back publicly and pointed to the progress the school has made over the years.
The Manning football bloodline extends well past Oxford, too. Archie’s other son, Peyton, built one of the great careers in Tennessee history before becoming a Pro Football Hall of Famer. And now there’s a third generation carrying the torch: grandson Arch Manning is leading a Texas team many think has real national championship potential in 2026.
