Actor Neil Flynn To Be Recognized at Bradley

March 28, 2017

Actor Neil Flynn, a 1982 graduate of Bradley University and star of ABC's "The Middle," will be recognized with the American Forensic Association National Individual Events Tournament’s Distinguished Alumni Award on Monday evening at Bradley University.

The AFA-NIET’s Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes those with a past affiliation with the AFA-NIET that have gone on to make significant achievements in their field. Flynn, who was a member of the Bradley Speech Team, is being recognized for his significant accomplishments in the entertainment arts. He will be recognized during the AFA award ceremony at 7:30 p.m. in Renaissance Coliseum, located at 1600 W. Main Street in Peoria.

Following the award presentation Flynn will be available for media interviews in the atrium of the Coliseum.
Bradley is honored to be hosting the AFA tournament this weekend and will welcome 1,000 participants from 76 schools from coast to coast. The national champion in collegiate speech will be crowned during the Monday evening ceremony.

Flynn was a member of the Bradley Speech Team from 1978 to 1982. After winning an Illinois High School Association state title in Humorous Duet Acting, he was recruited by the late George Armstrong to compete on Bradley’s elite speech team. He was part of Bradley’s national championship teams in ’80, ’81, and ’82.

In 2016, Flynn was nominated for a Critic's Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor in a comedy series for his role as Mike Heck in ABC’s sitcom "The Middle," which he has starred on for the past 9 seasons. He has performed a variety of roles on television series, including Scrubs, Seinfeld, The Drew Carey Show and That '70s Show, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Boston Public and NYPD Blue.

On the big screen he can be seen interrogating Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, directed by Steven Spielberg, and is also well known for playing Lindsay Lohan's dad in the hit comedy Mean Girls. Other feature credits include Hoot, Home Alone 3, The Fugitive, Chain Reaction, Rookie of the Year, Baby's Day Out and Major League.