TICKETS
Free tickets (limit two) will be available from the Hancher Box Office beginning Monday, Aug. 21, at 10 a.m.
Part of the Fall 2023 Levitt Lecture
Alan Page was first known for his skills in football both in college and in the NFL. At Notre Dame, he led the school's storied football program to the 1966 national championship. He was a first-round draft choice of the Minnesota Vikings in 1967. During his career for the Vikings and Chicago Bears, he played in 218 consecutive games, earning All-Pro honors six times, and was voted to nine consecutive Pro Bowls. In 1971 he was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player, becoming only the second defensive player in history to be so named. In 1988, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame; in 1993 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
He sought election to the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1992 and won, becoming the first African American on the court and one of the few associate justices ever to join the court initially through election, rather than appointment by governor. He was reelected in 1988, becoming the biggest vote-getter in Minnesota history. He served until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 in 2015. In 2018, Alan Page was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.