UM Provost Morris Stocks (right) accepts a donation of $100,000 from Steve Riddell, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl chairman, and Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A Inc., executive vice president and CMO, to the university’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Scholarship Endowment at the University of Mississippi.
OXFORD, Miss. – The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl has made a $100,000 gift to the University of Mississippi for scholarships, continuing an eight-year tradition of charitable and scholarship contributions by the organization.
One of college football’s most charitable bowl game, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl topped the $1 million mark in contributions this year.
“We are driven to do what we can to help and elevate those who have supported us,” said Gary Stokan, the bowl’s president and CEO.
Established at UM in 2011, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Scholarship Endowment assists Georgia students seeking an education at UM. To date, the bowl has given $270,000 to the endowment.
First priority for the scholarship goes to graduates of the Play It Smart program.
Play It Smart began in 2007 when the bowl partnered with the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame to create an educational program targeted at high school football players from economically disadvantaged environments. Play It Smart provides “academic coaches” in all 11 Atlanta public high schools. The coaches strive to keep the students in school, help improve their grades and study habits, encourage them to take college entrance exams and help them transition to college.
Students from Atlanta-area high schools are eligible for the scholarship if no Play It Smart graduates are identified in a given semester or year. In the event no eligible students are found from the Atlanta area, all UM applicants with Georgia residency become eligible.
“Giving back in the communities who have supported us is part of who we are,” Stokan said. “It is a priority for us and a significant part of our mission as an organization. The Atlanta community, our expanding partner conferences and schools, student-athletes in Georgia – they are all part of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl family.”