Peyton Manning gives $3 million to Tennessee
Peyton Manning is giving his alma mater $3 million.
Tennessee announced his contribution Friday night and said it will go to the football program and the Peyton Manning Scholarship endowment.
Manning graduated from Tennessee after the 1997 football season and was the No. 1 pick in the 1998 NFL draft. The scholarship has been around since Manning turned pro and is given to two first-year students in the school’s Honors Program. With his gift, the school says the goal is to expand the scholarship to four students annually.
In addition to the scholarship expansion, the school said Gate 16 at Neyland Stadium will be renamed the Gus Manning Gate as part of Peyton Manning’s donation.
Gus Manning has been a member of UT’s athletic department for 64 years. He first joined the program as the sports information director in 1951 and has served multiple roles within the department. A new athletic dining hall on campus will also be named for Carmen and Deborah Tegano. Carmen is a long-time member of Tennessee’s athletic department and current associate athletic director while Manning had Deborah as a professor at UT.
“Gus and Carmen both personify what it means to be a Vol for Life, and both have made the University of Tennessee a better place,” Peyton Manning said in a school statement. “No one has served Tennessee and its athletics program better than Gus, and Carmen has also served this University with tremendous distinction.
“We have been fortunate to maintain a close friendship with Gus, Carmen, and Debbie Tegano since I left UT, and our sincere hope is that the decision to honor them in this way is reflective of the positive impact they continue to have on this great University.”
Earlier this week, UCLA announced former quarterback and NFL Hall of Famer Troy Aikman gave $1 million for the school’s strength and conditioning facility.
For more Tennessee news, visit VolQuest.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
