Charles Woodson Funds New Kinesiology Scholarship
Ben Belanger
Kinesiology Student
Heisman Trophy winner and U-M football standout Charles Woodson recently gave a $100,000 gift to the university to fund a new academic scholarship. The scholarship gives preference to incoming Kinesiology undergraduates from specific communities. The scholarship will be awarded this fall to a student entering the program.
Woodson is the first and only defensive player since the 1940s to win the Heisman Trophy. He received that honor in 1997 as a junior, the same year he helped lead the Michigan Wolverines to an undefeated season and national championship under head coach Lloyd Carr. Along with winning the Heisman he took home the Bronko Nagurski Trophy for best defensive player in the country, and the Jim Thorpe Trophy for best defensive back in the country.
A Sport Management and Communication student in Kinesiology, Woodson decided to take his talents to the NFL after his junior season, when he was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the first-round of the draft. Currently Woodson plays for the Green Bay Packers.
Kinesiology Office of Student Services Director Shelly Kovacs has stayed in touch with Woodson over the past several years and understands his desire to fund a scholarship. “He’s a man of few words, but he knows what’s important to him.” The 31 year-old Woodson has wanted to fund a scholarship since he declared for the NFL draft. With the opportunity for Woodson’s scholarship fund to be matched dollar for dollar by President Mary Sue Coleman’s need-based scholarship fund, this was the perfect occasion.
“A lot of time went by, and I hadn’t found what or how I wanted to do it. Shelly let me know about the match, and I thought this was the perfect way to do what I wanted to do,” says Woodson. The $100,000 gift Woodson donated will be matched by the need-based scholarship fund to make a total of $200,000.
The fund will give preference to incoming Kinesiology undergraduates from communities Woodson has been a part of: Fremont, OH, his hometown; Ann Arbor/Detroit, MI; Oakland, CA; and Green Bay, WI. “Part of the reason I am doing this is because I had a scholarship to one of the greatest universities, and I didn’t take full advantage of that opportunity at the University and in Kinesiology,” says Woodson.
Specifics about how the scholarship will be allocated have yet to be decided. It is unclear whether one student will receive the award over four years, or whether several students will share it on an annual basis. Nevertheless the scholarship will be awarded this upcoming fall with Woodson having input on the recipients. He also has established a second scholarship in honor of his mother Georgia Woodson. This endowed fund will assist students from his hometown of Fremont, OH, who come from single parent homes.
Coach Lloyd Carr is not surprised at all about Woodson’s gift. “Charles Woodson has an incredible legacy as an athlete. He is an extremely generous guy and has an extreme love for the University of Michigan. I’m proud of Charles and his gift to U-M.”
Kovacs is impressed by Woodson’s desire to make a difference in someone’s life. “He’s been active in the communities he’s lived and played in, and this scholarship is a good way to honor the commitment to those communities,” says Kovacs. Woodson says that he does not want people to only think about his name in an athletic context. “I want students to say that Charles Woodson not only contributed to our athletic side, he contributed to a way that someone can better the world.”
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