By the time most University of Mississippi students are eating breakfast, many Ole Miss student-athletes have already put in a couple hours of training.
“We were required to be up at 5 a.m. for a run or for weight training every day,” said UM alumna Kie Purdom, former golf team member. “And that workout came in addition to the specific training we did in practice. Trying to balance the requirements of our sport with classwork and any other extracurricular activities was super difficult.”
Having a job, she says, would be nearly impossible for student-athletes with financial need.
“There’s just no time for that.”
Which is why athletic scholarship endowments, like one recently established with a $375,000 planned gift, are so important. The gift’s donors asked to remain anonymous, but said they simply felt led to give back to the university that had done so much for them.
“Scholarships enable our student-athletes to focus on school and on their sport without having to worry about covering the cost of tuition, books, housing and many other expenses,” said Keith Carter, interim athletics director. “Student-athletes who don’t have those added pressures perform better on our teams, ultimately making Ole Miss more competitive.”
This latest testamentary gift earmarked for Ole Miss Athletics will provide scholarships to student-athletes participating in any NCAA-sanctioned sport.
To make a gift to Ole Miss Athletics, visit http://givetoathletics.com/.
For information on including the university in your estate plans, contact Anna Langley, secretary of the UM Foundation, at 662-915-1298 or anna@umfoundation.com.
By Bill Dabney