VALDOSTA — Few sports figures are more revered in the state of Georgia than Mark Richt.

Richt’s success as the University of Georgia’s football coach has made him a popular man around the state, and has also made him a highly sought after speaker. On Tuesday, he will speak in Valdosta.

Richt will be the keynote speaker at the Valdosta High Football Banquet Tuesday night at VHS.

The meal, catered by Outback Steakhouse, will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the school cafeteria. Richt is scheduled to speak at 7:30 p.m. in the school’s fine arts building.

Tickets to the banquet are $15, but are free to Valdosta Touchdown Club members. Memberships ($20 for one year) can be purchased at the event. It will be $10 for parents of VHS players if they are not Touchdown Club members.

Valdosta is excited to have Richt back as the banquet speaker. He spoke at the Wildcats’ banquet in 2002 as well. He is a big draw in a city where Georgia is easily the most popular major-college football team. In previous years, he has also spoken in Valdosta on behalf of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Valdosta Bulldog Club. He also spoke at Lowndes High’s banquet in 2005.

In his seven years as head coach, Richt has already built an impressive resume.

He has lifted Bulldog football back into the upper echelon of college football. From 2002-05, Georgia finished in the top 10 in the country each season.

Richt is one of only nine coaches in Division I history to win 60 games in his first six seasons. His record in seven seasons as the Bulldogs’ head coach is 70-21, one of college football’s top records over that span. He has won two Southeastern Conference championships at a school that hadn’t won one since 1982 before he got there. His 2002 team finished No. 3 in the country, Georgia’s highest ranking since 1982. Last year, Georgia went 9-4 and won the Chick-Fil-A Bowl over Virginia Tech, 31-24.

In his time in Athens, Richt has had 32 players drafted by NFL teams, 37 All-SEC selections (27 on the first team), 23 coaches’ All-SEC selections, nine All-Americans and six future NFL first-round picks.

After Richt speaks, the Touchdown Club will hand out awards to players. Every year, they hand out several awards, most named after former Wildcats, to some of Valdosta’s top players from the previous season.

The banquet meal will be catered by Outback Steakhouse. This will be the third consecutive year that Outback has supplied the food for the event, thanks to the generosity of John Moon, the owner of the Outback in Valdosta. Moon has been real supportive of sports in the area for a number of years.

“John’s been real good to us,” Valdosta Touchdown Club treasurer David Waller said. “What he does for us really helps us put on a good banquet for these kids. We really appreciate having Outback cater the food for our banquet.”

For more information on the event, contact the Valdosta Touchdown Club at 247-7729, 242-2869 or 244-4444.