When representatives from the 2003 BCS National Championship-winning football team took the field to be recognized before the Florida game in October, the focus was on remembering the glory the team had brought to the University.
But one former member of the team wants to show that athletes can continue to give to the University even after they graduate.
Corey Webster, who was a junior in 2003 and now plays as a cornerback for the New York Giants, started the Give Greaux campaign last week to encourage former student-athletes to give back to the University in the form of donations.
Give Greaux will work with the Tiger Athletic Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports University Athletics, to identify former University student-athletes to motivate them to donate to the University. Webster said Give Greaux will be specifically looking for donations to help pay for facilities and equipment for student-athletes.
Before the Florida game, Webster presented a check for $200,000 to University Athletics and TAF dedicated to the building of a Nutrition Center for Student-Athletes. It was one of the largest-ever donations of its kind from a former student-athlete.
Webster said he hopes his donation and the efforts of the Give Greaux project in conjunction with TAF will help promote “a culture and tradition of giving” among former student-athletes.
He said the idea of donating back to the University was given to him by University trainer Shelly Mullenix and assistant athletic director Sharon Lewis. TAF then helped him through the process of making the donation. Webster said the process made him want to inspire other former student-athletes to give back to the University.
Give Greaux is one branch of Webster’s charitable giving organization, the Corey Webster Foundation, which also includes programs that offer mentoring and job training in the automotive service field.
Webster said he wanted to give back to the University in a way other than donating money because he felt the University gave him the opportunity to succeed as a professional athlete.
“You’ve got to start somewhere, so I might as well start with myself,” Webster told the Baton Rouge Business Report. “God has blessed me with a positive platform. Give Greaux is about just never stopping, just always progressing.”