Keynote Speakers

Ray Anderson

Executive Vice President
Football Operations
National Football League

Ray Anderson was named Senior Vice President of Football Operations for the National Football League in August 2006.

In February 2007 he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Football Operations.

His areas of responsibility include officiating, game operations, player personnel, on-field player discipline, rules and regulations compliance, college relations, high school player development, as well as Competition Committee Liaison.

Prior to joining the NFL, Anderson, a three-year football letterman at Stanford University, spent four seasons as the Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of the Atlanta Falcons. He worked closely with Falcons' President, Rich McKay and, among other responsibilities, was responsible for overseeing player contracts, the salary cap and legal affairs.

Anderson, 55, joined the Falcons from the coaches' division of Octagon, where he served as a Sports Agent for NFL coaches and players. He represented several current NFL head coaches.

In November of 2002, Anderson was named to the NFL Committee on Workplace Diversity by Commissioner Tagliabue. A year later he was voted one of the "101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports" by Sports Illustrated.

A native of Los Angeles, Ray Anderson was an all-league high school quarterback and shortstop. As a scholarship athlete, he played both football and baseball at Stanford, earning a Political Science Degree in 1976. In 1979, he graduated from Harvard Law School.

Anderson began his professional career as an attorney at Kilpatrick & Cody in Atlanta, working primarily in labor law litigation. In 1987, he launched a sports agency, AR Sports, specializing in the representation of NFL coaches and players, which merged with Octagon in 2001.

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Brian Billick

Brian Billick served as head coach for the Super Bowl winning Baltimore Ravens from January 19, 1999 to December 31, 2007. Billick led the Ravens to a 34-7 victory over the New York Giants to win Super Bowl XXXV, the franchise's only Super Bowl appearance.

Billick, who played football and basketball at Redlands High School in Redlands, California, had his No. 17 jersey retired by the school in March 2001. He played both quarterback and cornerback in high school and holds the state record with 21 career interceptions.

After spending his freshman season as a linebacker at the United States Air Force Academy, Billick transferred to Brigham Young University and became a tight end. He left the Air Force Academy because he learned, after he'd already enrolled, that his height and size (6-foot-4, 230 lb.) precluded him from ever becoming a fighter pilot. While at BYU he received All-Western Athletic Conference and honorable mention All-America honors in 1976.

Billick was selected in the 11th round of the 1977 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He attended 49ers and Dallas Cowboys training camps.

In 1978 Billick worked as a graduate assistant at Brigham Young for one season before joining the 49ers as the assistant director of public relations for two years in 1979 and 1980. He returned to coaching with San Diego State University, serving as the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator for five seasons from 1981 to 1985. After being named the offensive coordinator of Utah State University in 1986, Billick improved the second-worst offense in Division I-A into a top-ten-offense in only three seasons.

Billick was then hired as the assistant head coach and tight ends coach at Stanford by Dennis Green, serving both roles for three seasons until 1991.

Billick spent 1992 to 1998 coaching with the Minnesota Vikings during which the team made the playoffs during six of those seven seasons and set several offensive records in the process.

On January 19, 1999 Billick became the second head coach in Ravens history when he was hired to replace Ted Marchibroda. From 1999 to 2007, Billick led the Ravens to an 85-67 team record including 5-3 in the playoffs.

In his first season with the Ravens, Billick led the team to its first non-losing record (8-8) in the franchise's brief four-year history. The next season, Baltimore finished with a 12-4 record and earned its first playoff berth.

To reach the playoffs, Billick and the Ravens took full advantage of their vaunted defense, which allowed an NFL record-low 165 points in the regular season. The Ravens also led the league in turnover differential at plus-23. The Raven's stellar defense and mistake-free offense allowed them to advance to and win Super Bowl XXXV.

In 2001 Billick led the Ravens to a 10-6 record and a victory over the Miami Dolphins in a wild card playoff game before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Round.

Baltimore finished 7-9 and missed the playoffs in 2002, but bounced back in 2003 with a 10-6 record and the franchise's first division title. After the 2004 and 2005 seasons the Ravens bounced back again in 2006 as Billick led the team to a franchise best 13-3 record, won the AFC North and earned the first playoff bye in team history.

After his history-making run with the Ravens, Billick became a draft analyst for the NFL Network during the 2008 NFL Draft. He then became a game analyst for the NFL on Fox during the 2008 NFL season, working alongside Thom Brennaman.

Currently, Billick is in the FOX broadcast booth as an NFL game analyst. He was tapped last year by the NFL Network for its new show, "Playbook". For the show, Billick teamed with fellow NFL Network colleagues Mike Mayock and Solomon Wilcots as part of the "Playbook" broadcast team.

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