Super Bowl winning coach and current NBC NFL analyst Tony Dungy is the recipient of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl's most prestigious honor, the Distinguished Citizen Award. The Distinguished Citizen Award is a time-honored tradition of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. For more than thirty years the Bowl has recognized some of America's most prominent citizens.

Previous honorees include FedEx Chairman and CEO Fred Smith, AutoZone founder Pitt Hyde, Nobel Prize recipient Dr. Peter Doherty and legendary coaches Paul “Bear” Bryant, Eddie Robinson, John McKay, Johnny Majors, Dr. Tom Osborne and Frank Leahy.

“It truly is an honor to receive the AutoZone Liberty Bowl’s Distinguished Citizen Award,” said Dungy. “It is especially humbling, to me, to be in the company of past recipients that include AutoZone founder, Pitt Hyde; last year’s winner, U.S. Army General Kenneth Tovo; and my former teammate, Franco Harris”.

In 2007, Dungy became the first African American to coach a winning Super Bowl team, as he led the Indianapolis Colts to victory over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI. Dungy coached 28 years in the NFL, 13 of them as head coach of the Colts and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He now serves as an NFL studio analyst for NBC.

Dungy has been involved in a variety of charitable organizations, most notably, he helped launch the fatherhood program, All Pro Dad. Now in its twelfth year, All Pro Dad reaches men around the globe with a wide variety of hands on resources and programs designed to strengthen families. Dungy is also active with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Athletes in Action, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Clubs, and Prison Crusade Ministry. He also works with Basket of Hope, the Black Coaches Association National Convention, and the American Diabetes Association.