Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2015
- Class:
- 2003
Gary Brackett, a nine-year NFL veteran and a native of Glassboro, N.J., earned a spot on the Scarlet Knights' roster as a walk-on at middle linebacker. A two-time recipient of the Homer Hazel Award as the MVP of the Rutgers football team (2001, 2002), Brackett was also honored with the 12th Man Award following the 2000 season as Rutgers' top special teams' player.
As a senior in 2002, Brackett was Rutgers leading tackler with 130 stops. Brackett was also the second leading tackler in the BIG EAST Conference as a senior. Elected captain of the Scarlet Knights in both the 2001 and 2002 seasons, Brackett finished his Rutgers career with 274 tackles.
Bracket played with the Indianapolis Colts from 2003 to 2011 after being signed as an undrafted free agent. He helped guide the Colts to a pair of Super Bowl appearances, winning a Championship ring in Super Bowl XLI. In 2009, Brackett was the 11th annual recipient of the Arthur S. Arkush Humanitarian Award, presented to an NFL player "whose contributions to the community and charitable organizations are especially outstanding." He won the award for his work with the IMPACT Foundation, a charity he founded in the spring of 2007.
