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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Magee Named Chucky Mullins Courage Award Winner
3/31/2000 | Football
March 31, 2000
OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss defensive back Anthony Magee of Collins, Miss., has been selected as the 2000 recipient of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award.
The award, sponsored by Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, honors the late Chucky Mullins, who had his Ole Miss career come to an end during the 1989 Homecoming game against Vanderbilt when he was paralyzed after making a tackle. After returning to his studies at Ole Miss, Mullins passed away on May 6, 1991.
The Chucky Mullins Courage Award goes to a rising senior defensive player at Ole Miss. Each winner then wears Mullins' No. 38 during their senior season.
Magee, who has worn No. 27 during his first three years with the Rebels, will be in No. 38 Saturday when Ole Miss completes spring football drills with the annual Red-Blue game, set for 1:30 in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The selection of Magee was announced during Thursday night's 11th annual Chucky Mullins Courage Award Banquet, which is sponsored each year by Alpha Tau Omega and Phi Beta Sigma fraternities.
"Anthony Magee is the epitome of a team player," said Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe following the announcement. "He is certainly a winner on and off the field. He will make all the former winners and current Rebels proud, and I know Chucky Mullins would be proud of the person Anthony Magee is."
During his first three seasons at Ole Miss, Magee has earned three letters while being credited with 79 total tackles. He has eight pass interceptions, including two in the 1998 Independence Bowl victory over Texas Tech. His three regular season interceptions led the 1998 team and last year's three interceptions shared the team lead.
"It's like no other feeling in the world," Magee said after learning of his selection. "In all my days here, I never thought I would win such an award. I would like to thank God, because without Him none of this would be possible.
"I would like to thank Coach Cutcliffe and the rest of his staff for believing in me and knowing that I go out and do the right thing. I would also like to thank the rest of the Ole Miss family, especially my teammates. Without them, there's no way I could make it through those tough practices. There are a lot of players on this team who could have received this award.
"When you get an award like this, there's not much you can say. The only thing I can do is assure you that the pride and courage of Chucky Mullins will live on through me this next year."
Magee joins 10 other former Ole Miss Rebels to receive the Chucky Mullins Courage Award. They include Chris Mitchell, Jeff Carter, Trea Southerland, Johnny Dixon, Alundis Brice, Michael Lowery, Derek Jones, Nate Wayne, Gary Thigpen, and Ronnie Heard.
Jones, Wayne, and Heard attended Thursday night's banquet and each gave testimonials as to how having won the Chucky Mullins Courage Award affected their lives.
