"Play it Smart" is a National Football Foundation program designed to use the power of the football experience in enhancing the personal and academic development of youth from economically disadvantaged communities.

Recently, Manning and the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced the expansion of the Play it Smart program to cover all of the football-playing high schools in the Indianapolis Public School system.

The program trains academic coaches to work with high-school football teams and their coaches, taking lessons learned on the field and applying them in the classroom and community. In addition to one-on-one mentoring relationships, academic coaches coordinate academic support services, classes to prepare for standardized testing, community-service activities and other team-building initiatives throughout the school year.

 Expanding the program is the latest truly good deed by a former student-athlete who was an award winner on the field and in the classroom.

A five-year starter for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, Manning graduated cum laude in only three years with a major in speech communication from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. A three-time Pro Bowl pick, Manning is using his fame to do a variety of good deeds.

In 1999, he started the PeyBack Foundation to "promote the future success of disadvantaged youth by assisting programs that provide the necessary leadership and growth opportunities for youth who are risk."

The foundation's most recent project is its commitment to place Play it Smart at Manual and Northwest High Schools in Indianapolis this year, ensuring that all five football-playing schools in the district have the benefit of an academic coach.

"Coming from a background where I had a lot of support growing up, I know the importance of having access to a positive role model," Manning said. "This program shows young adults that people care. I want to establish a foothold in Indianapolis for Play it Smart, but I hope others will see what I have seen and support Play it Smart in our city."

The Play it Smart program began in 1998 and has more than doubled in size each year. This year, it will serve 88 high schools in 55 cities, reaching about 5,100 high-school student-athletes.

According to statistics provided by the National Football Foundation:

• 87 percent of Play it Smart participants have gone on to college, compared with 57 percent of their peers;

• 95 percent of the seniors participating graduate high school;

• Almost twice as many participants take the SAT or ACT compared to their peers; and

• The participants have completed more than 26,000 hours of community service.

Manning and his father Archie have provided support for Play it Smart since the program's inception, appearing together as spokesmen and also building relationships with leaders in academics and athletics.

A friend to the community

Ever mindful of the benefits athletics give to young people, Manning has looked for ways he can help. His PeyBack Foundation partnered with the Indiana Sports Corporation and the Indiana Black Expo this year to host the third PeyBack Classic in the RCA Dome, where the Colts play their home games.

The PeyBack Classic provides seven Indianapolis-area high schools with the opportunity to play in the RCA Dome, and proceeds from the event are donated to the athletics programs of the participating high schools.

"I can't thank everyone enough for all their support," Manning said. "A special thanks goes to all of our sponsors who made this possible. They understand that the PeyBack Classic is about more than football."

Since 1999, the PeyBack Foundation has donated sizeable sums to community agencies in Indiana, Tennessee and Louisiana. It has hosted Christmas parties for foster children, helped other organizations raise money for coats for underprivileged youngsters and donated food to organizations that help the needy.

Manning is a member of the NCAA's Leadership Advisory Board, and he was previously on the NCAA Foundation Board.

He also makes numerous appearances each year to promote the NCAA Stay in Bounds program, a character-development initiative committed to teaching citizenship through sports and the acceptance of a set of guiding principles of sportsmanship.

"There are some wonderful people and organizations out there who are experts and helping kids grow up healthy and ultimately learn to become leaders," Manning said. "The best way I thought I could help was by assisting existing programs that provide necessary leadership and growth opportunities for kids who are at risk."