An iconic football player and coach will be in Brookhaven Thursday night to share the gospel of the pigskin and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Coaching legend Bill Curry will deliver the main address at this year’s second-annual Lincoln County Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet at Easthaven Baptist Church. The banquet begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday night.

“We’re excited to have coach Bill Curry. He knows football just a little bit, just a touch,” said FCA District 7 Representative Chris Huffman. “He’s a nationally-recognized FCA speaker, a strong believer, and we’re happy to have him come down to help spread the message of Jesus through FCA.”

Tickets to the event are $100 each and can be purchased at Bank of Brookhaven and King’s Daughters Medical Center.

Curry was the starting center for the victorious Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl I, and played the same position for the Baltimore Colts when the team won Super Bowl V. He served as president of the NFL Players Association from 1973 to 1975.

He served as assistant coach at Georgia Tech in 1976, and was an assistant for Green Bay from 1977-1979. He became the head coach of Georgia Tech in 1980, going 9-2-1 with a win in the All-American Bowl in 1985.

Curry became the head coach at Alabama in 1987. While coaching the Crimson Tide, he compiled a 26-10 record and won a share of the conference title in 1989. He coached Kentucky from 1990-1996.

In 2008, Curry was hired to a coach a team that didn’t exist yet — Georgia State. He helped build the program for scratch and coached three seasons on the field, retiring at the end of the 2012 campaign.

Curry was named Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year in 1989 and the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award in 2007. He was SEC Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1989, and Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 1985. He’s also the author of “Ten Men You Meet in the Huddle” and founder of AIMS Sports Reputation Management, LLC.

The FCA banquet is the organization’s biggest fundraiser, and proceeds help accomplish its Christian mission through the “Four Cs” — coaches, campus, camps and community. FCA works closely to encourage and support coaches and establish a presence through student-led groups on high school and college campuses.

It also distributes Bibles to graduating seniors, sponsors student-athletes for summer camps and sends coaches to workshops and getaways.

A new event at this year’s banquet will be the recognition of 20 student-athletes from the 10 schools in Huffman’s FCA district for teamwork, excellence and service on and off the court.

Last year’s inaugural FCA banquet featured legendary coach Bobby Bowden and was a huge success for the organization. Curry comes with a resume just as lengthy as Bowden’s.

“Coach Curry has held onto his faith all throughout his career. He’s been the plumbline of what you’d like a coach to be,” said FCA board member David Culpepper. “You hope you can get an individual like him to lead young men.”