Some of the biggest names in sports will trade stadiums, arenas and finish lines for an evening of philanthropy when The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis presents its 41st Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner on Monday, October 5, 2026, at the New York Hilton Midtown.
The annual New York City celebration brings together championship athletes, Hall of Famers, entertainers and supporters around a mission much bigger than sports: advancing research and treatments for paralysis and neurological conditions through The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. The 2026 dinner is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Hilton, located at 1335 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.
A Remarkable Class of 2026 Sports Legends
This year’s honorees span football, basketball, baseball, boxing, Olympic competition, motorsports, hockey, volleyball and horse racing.
Rob Gronkowski, Shaun White, Laila Ali, Misty May-Treanor, Dale Jarrett, Andruw Jones, Chris Webber, Chamique Holdsclaw, Mark Recchi, John Randle and Edgar Prado will all be recognized as 2026 Great Sports Legends.
It is a roster with serious hardware attached. Gronkowski earned four Super Bowl championships during his NFL career, while White captured three Olympic gold medals and a record 15 X Games gold medals. May-Treanor is a three-time Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist, Jarrett is a three-time Daytona 500 winner, and Prado rode Barbaro to victory in the 2006 Kentucky Derby.
Baseball great Andruw Jones also arrives at this year’s dinner following his 2026 induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, while Queens-born basketball standout Chamique Holdsclaw is part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.
Two-time NBA champion and NCAA champion Shane Battier will receive The Buoniconti Fund Award, recognizing his philanthropic efforts beyond the basketball court.
Gloria Estefan Hosts, Train Takes the Stage
The evening will have plenty of star power beyond the sports world. Nine-time Grammy Award winner and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Gloria Estefan will serve as Master of Ceremonies, while Grammy-winning pop-rock band Train is scheduled to deliver a special musical performance.
Guests can also participate in an auction featuring sports memorabilia, jewelry, travel experiences and other packages, turning the ballroom into part celebration, part collector’s playground and, most importantly, a major fundraising opportunity.
A Mission That Began With One Life-Changing Tackle
At the heart of the dinner is the story of Marc Buoniconti, president and namesake of The Buoniconti Fund, who celebrates his 60th birthday this year.
Buoniconti was 19 when he was paralyzed during a college football game. His injury inspired his late father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti, along with Dr. Barth Green and others, to pursue what became a decades-long mission to find better treatments and ultimately cures for paralysis.
Today, The Buoniconti Fund serves as the fundraising arm of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Its research extends beyond traumatic spinal cord and brain injuries into peripheral nerve injuries and neurological disorders and diseases including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ALS, multiple sclerosis and stroke.
For more than four decades, the Great Sports Legends Dinner has demonstrated something sports fans understand especially well: extraordinary progress rarely happens alone. This October, another formidable team of legends will assemble in Manhattan, this time with the goal of helping move paralysis research closer to the finish line.
Event Information
41st Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner
Date: Monday, October 5, 2026
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY 10019
Tickets & Tables: The Buoniconti Fund’s official Great Sports Legends Dinner website
Contact: Stephanie Sayfie Aagaard at 305-243-6385 or ssayfieaagaard@miami.edu.
Great Sports Legends Dinner tickets and tables
Learn more about The Buoniconti Fund