Manning Passing Academy: Why Thibodaux is so important to the Manning Family

The Manning Passing Academy is a staple of summertime in Thibodaux, but it hasn't always been this way.

The whole reason why the camp even moved to Nicholls can be traced back to two things: the New Orleans Saints and a need for natural grass.

"We started in Tulane, but we kind of outgrew the space," Archie Manning said. "We went over to Hammond, to Southeastern Louisiana. Those people were nice to us, they're great people. But they didn't have a football program at the time, and once we got to 600, 700, 800 kids, we ran out of grass. We didn't have fields there."

But around the same time, the Saints had just wrapped up a three-year stint hosting training camp at Guidry Stadium, opting to instead host it at their practice facility in Metairie. With the stadium and the university needing a new tenant, Archie visited the campus.

"The Saints decided they weren't coming back. I came down here, thinking they don't have any more grass than we had in Hammond. I was wrong. They have a beautiful 10-acre field. That sold us on coming here."

The Mannings came, and never looked back. Nicholls has been hosting the camp every summer for 18 years, renamed the playing surface at Guidry Stadium after the family built new practice facilities. The camp recently extended its contract with Nicholls through 2028.

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"The whole city of Thibodaux, the Nicholls people, they've done an unbelievable job being hosts to our camp," Eli Manning said. "The support we give, the facilities, how this has grown over the 18 years we've been here, it's incredible. We just owe so much gratitude towards them."

As the city embraced them, the Manning family responded by embracing the city. The Mannings have turned the camp into a sort of one-of-a-kind family vacation, where all three brothers meet up with their father to relax and coach football.

"It's kind of guaranteed three or four days that we can be together, Cooper, Eli, and my dad." Peyton Manning said.

The idea of a family meetup at a football camp was not from one of the Mannings, but nonetheless came from a legendary figure in the sport.

"My dad kind of got that idea from Bobby Bowden," Peyton said. "He had the Bowden Academy. It was a chance for him to be with his sons. That was always the spirit of it. And so, for 28 years, we've had this weekend every June."

The family even stays in the dorms on the Nicholls campus, just like the campers and counselors. They believe it's just as much a highlight of coming to Thibodaux as the coaching is.

"We live together, we stay in the same dorm for three nights, four days," Peyton said. "It's fun. We coach the kids hard, but we have a lot of fun hanging out at the same time."

The Mannings aren't going anywhere. Archie, Peyton, Eli, and Cooper haven't missed a single day of camp in almost 30 years, and as the camp's grown, the family has, too.

Cooper, Peyton, and Eli have each given Archie multiple grandchildren since the camp started. And many of those kids have also attended or worked for the Manning Passing Academy in some way.

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While a lot of attention has been directed towards Cooper's son Arch, who plays quarterback at the University of Texas and is a counselor at this year's camp, he doesn't just have his grandfather, dad, and uncles with him. Cooper's daughter, May, served as a staffer last year, while his other son, Heid — himself another former football player — served as one this year. Even Peyton's son Marshall attended this year as a camper, as he was finally old enough to run drills.

"It's great," Eli said. "I've been in all their shoes before. I was a camper when the camp started, just like Marshall. I was a counselor, just like Arch. Now, I don't really know what my job is. But it's fun to get to see them and coach them up, and just to watch their love of football grow over the years. I've just always loved to watch them, whether it's Marshall's eighth-grade football or going to Austin to see some of Arch's games."

However, there's one more Manning that hasn't made it to a Manning Passing Academy yet. Still, Archie hopes to see him in Thibodaux one day.

"Eli's got a little five-year-old son named Charlie," Archie said. "I hope I last long enough to see Charlie come to camp."

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Manning Passing Academy: Why Thibodaux is so important to the Manning Family