Cooper Archibald Manning (born March 6, 1974)[1] is an American entrepreneur and television personality who is the host of the television show The Manning Hour for Fox Sports as well as principal and senior managing director of investor relations for AJ Capital Partners. He is the eldest son of former professional football quarterback Archie Manning, and the older brother of former professional football quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning.[2][3]

Cooper Manning
Manning in 2018
Born
Cooper Archibald Manning

(1974-03-06) March 6, 1974 (age 50)
Alma materUniversity of Mississippi
EmployerAJ Capital Partners
Spouse
Ellen Heidingsfelder
(m. 1999)
Children3, including Arch
ParentArchie Manning
Relatives

Early life

edit

Born on March 6, 1974, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Manning is the first child of Archie and Olivia Manning. He played football at Isidore Newman School as a wide receiver, having a breakout season as a senior with his brother Peyton at quarterback.[4]

Manning was a highly ranked prospect out of high school and ended up committing to the University of Mississippi, Archie's and later his brother Eli's alma mater. When practices started in the summer before school, Manning felt some numbness in his fingers and toes, so he went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, to be diagnosed.[5] There he was told that he had spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spine and pinching of the nerves.[4][6] Manning accepted the diagnosis and immediately ended his playing career.

In honor of Cooper, Peyton donned his brother's jersey number, 18, when he began his professional career in the National Football League in 1998.[7]

Post-football career

edit

Manning was a partner of Scotia Howard Weil, an energy investment boutique with offices in Houston and New Orleans.[8][9] The firm holds an annual energy conference that attracts representatives for top-level investors, public energy companies, private energy companies, private equity firms, and other commercial lenders from around the world.[10]

During the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans, he hosted his own segment on The Dan Patrick Show, titled "Manning on the Street."[11] On September 13, 2015, Manning joined the broadcast team of Fox NFL Kickoff.[2] In 2016, AJ Capital Partners added Manning to its executive team as principal and senior managing director of investor relations.[3] AJ Capital Partners is a private real estate company based in Chicago, Illinois, focused on building a portfolio of hotels and resorts, most notably, the company's in-house brand, Graduate Hotels, a collection of boutique design-driven hotels in university-anchored markets across the US. Other projects have included restorations of existing hotels and development of new properties, several located in Chicago, such as Chicago Athletic Association,[12] Soho House Chicago,[13] Thompson Chicago,[14] and Hotel Lincoln.[15]

Since 2021, Manning co-hosts College Bowl alongside his brother Peyton.[16]

Personal life

edit

Cooper has three children: two sons and a daughter. Cooper's son Arch plays quarterback at the University of Texas. Arch played at Isidore Newman School, the same school where his father and uncles played. Cooper's oldest child, daughter May, played volleyball at Academy of the Sacred Heart, and is a junior at the University of Virginia, which her mother Ellen attended. She won the Louisiana state volleyball championship with Sacred Heart in 2020.[17][18] His younger son Heid plays center, previously teaming up with Arch.[19]

Manning is Catholic, having converted to the faith to marry his wife Ellen.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Archie Manning through the Years". The Commercial Appeal. February 16, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Boren, Cindy (October 11, 2015). "Cooper Manning is almost as funny as Peyton and Eli". The Washington Post.
  3. ^ a b "Cooper Manning joins AJ Capital Partners as senior managing director". Hotel Online. March 31, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Lopretsi, Mike (January 30, 2008). "The Other Manning Brother Lives A Life Without Regret". USA Today. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  5. ^ Conway, Tyler. "Cooper Manning's Injury, Aftermath Play Central Role in ESPN's 'Book of Manning'". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  6. ^ "Spinal Stenosis". American College of Rheumatology. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  7. ^ "THE OTHER BROTHER LIKE HIS FAMOUS FATHER, ARCHIE, AND YOUNGER SIBLINGS, PEYTON AND ELI, COOPER MANNING HAD NFL-CALIBER TALENT. THEN HIS BODY BETRAYED HIM". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  8. ^ "Cooper Manning Finds Niche in Stocks, Leaving NFL to Brothers". Bloomberg Businessweek. January 29, 2010. Archived from the original on February 2, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  9. ^ "Howard Weil | Institutional Sales & Trading". www.howardweil.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  10. ^ "Annual Energy Conference". Scotia Howard Weil. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  11. ^ Gaines, Cork (February 1, 2013). "Cooper Manning Proves To Be The Funniest Of The Manning Brothers". Business Insider.
  12. ^ Rudnansky, Ryan (May 29, 2015). "Chicago Athletic Association reopens as luxury boutique hotel". TravelPulse.
  13. ^ Ori, Ryan (July 26, 2013). "Soho House Hotel developers plan office conversion nearby". Crain's Chicago Business.
  14. ^ Gallun, Alby (July 28, 2015). "In hot hotel market will Thompson Chicago sell for record price?". Crain's Chicago Business.
  15. ^ "Shorenstein invests in Chicago mixed use redevelopment venture". REJournals.com. August 21, 2013. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  16. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (November 24, 2020). "Peyton Manning to Host 'College Bowl' Reboot on NBC (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  17. ^ Stephens, Mitch (December 4, 2020). "May Manning adds own title to one of America's most famous sports families". MaxPreps. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  18. ^ "May Manning '21". Academy of the Sacred Heart. May 21, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  19. ^ Schlabach, Mark (October 22, 2021). "Arch Manning and life as the nation's top quarterback recruit in a family of quarterback royalty". ESPN. Retrieved October 23, 2021.