The Athens City School Board unanimously passed direction Thursday to begin the process of renaming the Athens High School football stadium after alumnus Joe Burrow.
The announcement, made by a Facebook post, directs school superintendent Tom Tibbs and the Athens High School administration to rename the football stadium in Burrow’s honor after the former alumnus and quarterback won the Heisman Memorial Trophy.
Burrow’s speech, which highlighted the poverty and hunger problems in the Athens community, inspired efforts that led to over $450,000 of donations to the Athens County Food Pantry.
“As part of Joe's acceptance speech he humbly recognized Athens and Southeast Ohio and the many challenges faced by families in our region,“ the release said. “His comments instigated a fundraising campaign that has resulted in over $400,000 for the Athens County Food Bank, thousands of dollars donated to the Athens High School Boosters, donations to Athens County Children's Services via the Giving Tree project, and donations to other area governmental and non-profit support agencies.”
As a senior at Athens High School in 2014, Burrow led the Bulldogs to a 14-1 record and was named Ohio Mr. Football and won Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year honors. He led LSU to an undefeated regular season and a No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff in his second season after transferring from Ohio State.
Burrow’s next step will likely be the NFL, where he’s widely projected to be selected as the first overall pick of the league’s draft in April.
