With the list of speakers all ready signed up, the 2010 AFCA Convention in Orlando, Florida, is shaping up to be one of the best conventions in recent history. Some of the most successful collegiate coaches in the country will be sharing their ideas on Xs and Os and football philosophy.

The convention kicks off on Sunday, January 10, with two former greats sharing their ideas on offense and defense. The Xs and Os with the Legends will have former Marshall head coach, Bob Pruett, speaking at 2 p.m. on defense, with Ken Hatfield, former Air Force, Arkansas, Clemson and Rice head coach, following right behind at 3 p.m. speaking on offense. Hatfield retired from coaching following the 2005 season with a career record of 168-140-4 in 27 seasons at Air Force, Arkansas, Clemson and Rice. Pruett served as the head coach at Marshall from 1996 to 2004, directing the Thundering Herd to a 94-23 record (.803) over nine seasons.

Later on Sunday, the popular Buzz Sessions will take center stage, beginning with the first group of speakers at 7 p.m. Some of the Buzz Session speakers lined up are Josh Heupel of Oklahoma speaking on quarterbacks while John Hendrick of South Florida will be speaking on special teams.

The schedule gets kicked off early on Monday, January 11 with the President’s Breakfast at 6:30 a.m. Former Georgia Tech athletic director Homer Rice will be the featured speaker during the breakfast. Speaking at the Kickoff Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. will be Bob Beaudine, CEO & President of Eastman & Beaudine, Inc., one of the world leaders in executive searches. At 2 p.m., Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly will be speaking. Kelly has the Bearcats at 12-0 on the season, and a spot in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. At 3 p.m., TCU head coach Gary Patterson will be speaking. Patterson has the Horned Frogs undefeated and playing Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Later on Monday, coaching greats, Lou Holtz and Dick MacPherson, will share their expertise to convention goers during the Master Coach Series at 4 p.m. The second set of Buzz Sessions will kickoff later that day, starting at 7 p.m. Some of those speakers include Vic Shealy of Richmond speaking on defensive backs, Bobby Williams of Alabama speaking on special teams and Jeff McMartin of Central (Iowa) speaking on quarterbacks.

On Tuesday, January 12, sandwiched between the Awards Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. and the Coach of the Year Dinner at 7:30 p.m., Mack Brown of Texas will be speaking at 3 p.m. Brown has led the Longhorns to a Big 12 Championship and a spot in the BCS National Title game. Earlier on Tuesday, Henry Frazier from Prairie View A&M, Patrick Ross from Lindenwood, Blaine Bennett from Central Washington and Norman Joseph from Mississippi College will be leading the divisional breakout sessions. Kathleen Hessert from Sports Media Challenge will be leading two breakout sessions on social media outlets such as Facebook and Myspace.

Concluding the 2010 Convention will be the popular Chalk Talks, starting at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, January 13. This is one of the more popular educational opportunities at the AFCA Convention. Navy and Houston coordinators will be speaking on offense, while Alabama and Central Florida coordinators will speak on defense. LSU and Central Michigan coordinators will speak on special teams.