Ben (in the background) returned to Miami for a pre-game ceremony for the retirement of his jersey number.
On Saturday, October 13, 2007, Miami of Ohio retired Ben Roethlisberger's number. It was the first time in 34 years Miami has retired a football jersey number. Ben became only the third athlete in Miami football history to have his jersey number retired, joining John Pont and Bob Hitchens.
The former RedHawk quarterback, now a star with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, led Hoeppner's 2003 club to 13 consecutive victories, a Mid-American Conference Championship, a victory in the GMAC Bowl and a No. 10 ranking in the final national polls. Roethlisberger earned Third-Team All-America honors during his record-breaking junior season and became just the third Miami player to capture the Vern Smith Award as the Mid-American Conference Most Valuable Player.
Ben holds school records for career yards (10,829) and touchdowns (84).
He was selected with the 11th overall pick in 2004 by the Pittsburgh Steelers -- the highest draft position of any Miami player in program history. Ben led the Steelers to victory in each of his first 14 NFL starts, leading Pittsburgh to the AFC Championship game and being named the NFL's Rookie of the Year. One year later he led the Steelers to a 21-10 win over Seattle in Super Bowl XL.
*Thank you to Christy for sending me the program!
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