2/9/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Athletics Department, in conjunction with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion+ at Lackawanna College, is pleased to announce that former Lackawanna College football great and College Football Hall of Famer, Bryant McKinnie ('99), is returning to Northeastern PA for a visit at the College on Tuesday, February 20^th.
 
"We are excited to welcome Bryant McKinnie back to the Lackawanna College campus," said Erik Larson, Director of Athletics at Lackawanna College. "We look forward to having our current student-athletes hear Bryant's story and successes. We appreciate Bryant taking the time to celebrate Black History Month with us."
 
McKinnie will be speaking to the public at 12:00pm ET that day inside the Peoples Security Bank Theater in Angeli Hall at Lackawanna College, talking about Black History Month and its meaning and impact on him.  He will then spend time with his former football coach, Mark Duda, and visiting with the athletics department throughout the afternoon, before returning to talk to the current student athletes in the evening at a closed event.
 
 
"Bryant's potential as a football player was evident from the moment we met him. He was a very long and athletic young man who could do anything on the field we asked of him," said Duda, who was in just his fourth season as head coach when McKinnie joined the Falcons in 1997.
 
"Bryant worked extremely hard to become a great player here, at Miami, and eventually in the NFL."
 
McKinnie, who spent two years at Lackawanna College, graduated and left to finish his collegiate career at the University of Miami in Florida. While there, he helped the Hurricanes to a 23-1 record in his two seasons, including a perfect 12-0 record his senior year in 2001, as Miami won the BCS National Championship after a Rose Bowl victory over Nebraska. He was awarded the 2001 Outland Trophy, given annually to the best interior offensive lineman in the country, and was selected as a Unanimous All-American that year. McKinnie even finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2001, almost unheard of for an offensive lineman.
 
McKinnie's hard-work and accolades helped him make the pros, as he was selected in the first round, seventh overall, in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. With the Vikes, McKinnie put together a streak of 80 straight starts from 2003 to 2007, and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2009. He joined the Baltimore Ravens in 2012, where he started every game for the Ravens in the playoffs and helped Baltimore capture its second-ever Super Bowl to cap off an impressive postseason. He left the Ravens via trade to the Miami Dolphins in 2013, where he finished his playing career.
 
Duda has spent 30 of the 31 years of Lackawanna football as the head coach, and has seen plenty of talented student-athletes star with the Falcons and go elsewhere. He says that McKinnie's hard work was what set him apart, but that he always kept close with Duda, no matter where he went.
 
"Bryant always kept in contact with me and our program, and always had great pride in his humble beginnings here at Lackawanna College," said Duda. "Bryant has always been a great example of what you can become with hard work, dedication, great genetics, and a Lackawanna College degree."
 
McKinnie has come back to Scranton a handful of times since his playing days, and has a building named in his honor, McKinnie Hall, that serves as a dormitory for the majority of the football student-athletes at Lackawanna College. He is a successful entrepreneur in his post-playing career, becoming a three-time Grammy nominated producer with BMajor Records, and currently serving as C.O.O. for LetzChat, a real-time language translation company.
 
McKinnie's visit on February 20^th will start with a public event at 12:00pm ET, where he is scheduled to speak to the public for 45 minutes about Black History Month, and its meaning and impact on him, both as an athlete and beyond. Afterwards, McKinnie will spend time meeting with Duda and the athletics department throughout the afternoon, before coming back to talk to the current student-athletes at Lackawanna College in a closed event that evening.