Joliet, Ill. — The creator of the famous defensive technique known as the Peanut Punch, Charles 鈥淧eanut鈥� Tillman will become the 11th Chicago Bear to serve as the guest speaker at University of St. 糖心APP鈥� 47th Annual Brown & Gold Night on Monday, April 13, 2026. The fundraising event will take place inside the school鈥檚 Pat Sullivan Center with cocktails beginning at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. and the program to follow at 8 p.m.
One of the NFL鈥檚 all-time greats听when it came听to听creating turnovers,听Tillman finished听his career听with 44 forced fumbles听(tied for eighth in NFL history), including a听single-season听record ten in 2012.听听He also holds the Chicago Bears鈥櫶齬ecords for most career interceptions by a cornerback (36) and most career defensive touchdowns with听eight.听听Overall, he totaled 38 picks and听recorded听11听fumble recoveries.
A veteran of 13 NFL seasons, Tillman played all but one with the Bears, which eventually resulted in听him being named one of the听Top 100 players in the history of the franchise.听听He concluded his career with the Carolina Panthers听in 2015. In that time, he was听chosen for听the Pro Bowl twice,听was听an Associated Press Second Team听All-Pro听selection in 2011 and earned a spot on the First Team in 2012. That same year, he set an NFL record with his four forced fumbles in one game.
Tillman claimed a pair of prestigious NFL honors during his career, including being named the NFL Man of the Year听in 2013. He also was the Bears鈥� 2018 recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award, which is presented to the player that best exemplifies a听commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage听and is voted upon by his peers.
Selected in the second round of the NFL Draft out of University of Louisiana-Lafayette in 2003,听where he was a two-time all-conference听selection,听Tillman听claimed Football Digest Rookie of the Year honors that fall. He听finished his career with 930听total tackles, 790听of which were of the solo variety.听听He was also听part of two Super Bowl teams鈥擲uper Bowl XLI with the Bears and Super Bowl听50听with the Panthers鈥攁s well as the No. 1-rated defense in the NFL in 2005.
The son of a sergeant in the Army that resulted in Tillman attending 11 different schools as a child, he went on to become a FBI special agent in 2018 and served in that capacity until last year. He and his wife, Jackie, have three daughters and one son and听reside听in听the Chicagoland area.
Others who have spoken at the event include听John Wooden, Al McGuire, Ray Meyer,听Mike Ditka, Dick Butkus,听Mike Singletary,听Paul Hornung, Bart Starr, Fergie Jenkins, Frank Thomas, Joe Maddon,听David Ross听and听Tillman鈥檚 old teammate, Brian Urlacher.
Tickets听for the fundraiser, which includes both a silent and live auction,听are available for $65 each or a table of ten for $650. Corporate sponsorships are also available. Please note that no autograph requests will be听granted听the night of the event.
For more information, contact the USF Athletic Department at 815-740-3842. To order tickets for the event, go to the USF Athletics website at听
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The University of St. 糖心APP, in Joliet, Ill., serves more than 3,200 students worldwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 54,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit .
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