Mark Murphy, former Green Bay Packers president and CEO and Super Bowl-winning safety for Washington, knows a little bit about football.
Murphy, executive in residence at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, will share that knowledge through the university's enrichment program in a three-session webinar this fall on "The Evolution of American Football."
Murphy will talk about football's 19th-century beginnings to today’s NFL, and share insights into rule changes, leadership decisions and moments that transformed football into America’s most popular sport.
Murphy hailed from northern New York. He attended college at Colgate and later was athletic director there. He played in Super Bowls in 1983 and 1984 and worked for the NFL Players Association and U.S. Department of Justice. He was athletic director at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, when the Packers hired him at the end of 2017.
Sessions will be from noon to 1 p.m. on Sept. 8, Oct. 13 and Nov. 10. Registration for all three webinars is $119 and can be made at uwgb.edu/enrichment/evolution-of-american-football. The presentations will lean toward the Packers, not surprisingly, but also look at the larger history of the game.
Session one, on Sept. 8 will be a look at how American football evolved and the key figures who shaped its early years:
- Roots in rugby and soccer in the 1800s
- The impact of Walter Camp and early rule changes
- First college game and early league formation
- Origins of the NFL
- Founding of the Green Bay Packers
- Early championships and milestones that defined the sport
Session two on Oct. 13 will look at how the Super Bowl era began and the Packers became a dominant force:
- Creation of a rival league and the road to the Super Bowl
- Vince Lombardi’s leadership and championship success
- The Packers’ role in growing the NFL’s popularity
- Challenges and transition after Lombardi
- A memorable moment from the team’s rebuilding years
Session three on Nov. 10 will discuss the Packers’ resurgence and continued success in the modern NFL:
- The team’s current era and community impact
- Key leaders behind the 1990s turnaround
- Super Bowl success and sustained competitiveness
- Evolution of Lambeau Field and the Green Bay market
- Another championship run in the 2000s
Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X at @RichRymanPG and on Instagram at @rrymanPG.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Mark Murphy to teach about the evolution of football at UWGB