The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Williams to appear on 'The Celebrity Apprentice'
01.28.2016 | Football
Legendary Longhorn RB Ricky Williams to compete with 15 other celebrities to win money for charity
Legendary Longhorn running back Ricky Williams has signed on to be one of sixteen celebrities vying to win money for charity on the popular NBC reality show "The Celebrity Apprentice." The 1998 Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Fame member will be competing against 15 other celebrities from TV, film, music and sports in challenging, business-driven tasks more focused than ever on technology and innovation, testing their ability to work together as a team while raising money and awareness for their favorite causes.
Williams is currently a college football analyst for the Longhorn Network, co-hosting the network's flagship programs "Texas GameDay" and "Texas GameDay Final" during the football season.
The San Diego native was born in 1977 where he excelled not only in football but also in baseball and track. His performance as a running back for Patrick Henry High School led to his recruitment by the University of Texas, where he had a record-breaking career highlighted by two All-American honors and the Heisman in 1998. He finished his college career with 21 NCAA records and 46 University of Texas all-time marks.
He was selected as the fifth overall pick in the 1999 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints but played the majority of his NFL career with the Miami Dolphins, for whom he was the 2002 NFL rushing leader, a first-team All-Pro and the Pro Bowl MVP. He retired from the NFL in 2012 after one season with the Baltimore Ravens. Williams spent 11 years in the NFL and finished his career with 10,009 rushing yards, becoming one of only 29 players to reach the 10,000-yard mark in the history of the NFL.
During his NFL career and continuing into retirement, Williams has been an advocate for sensible health and wellness practices. He is also the founder of the Austin-based Ricky Williams Foundation, which seeks to help two constituencies close to Ricky's heart: at-risk, low-income youth and concussed retired football players.
This will be the ninth season of the popular show and will air sometime in the 2016-2017 television season. The show will be taped in Los Angeles and the host will be film megastar and former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
For more information, and to see a list of all the celebrities competing, visit NBC.com's official show site: http://www.nbc.com/the-celebrity-apprentice.