Grants Part of The College Football Playoff Foundation's Go Teach initiative and Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway for Student Athletes Looking to Become Teachers

IRVING, Texas – In support of The College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation's Go Teach initiative, the CFP and Dr Pepper announced today the recipients of this year's tuition assistance – a collective effort to award $1.5 million in tuition over the next six years to support student athletes looking to become teachers. Five grand prize winners were each presented with $20,000 tuition grants, while more than 60 student athletes received $2,500 each in tuition awards. This fund is in addition to Dr Pepper's Tuition Giveaway Program and allows Dr Pepper's conference partners, the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC, to provide support and recognition for student athletes with education-related majors.

Conference partners and networks shared in the celebration with surprises and features on ACC Network, Big 12 Digital Media, Big Ten Network, CBS, Pac-12 Network and SEC Nation. Former Dallas Cowboy and CFP Foundation ambassador Darren Woodson surprised many of the $2,500 tuition award winners with the news on a virtual group call with student athletes from the five conferences. He also awarded one of the grand prizes to the Big 12 winner, Baylor University's James Lockhart, on a separate virtual call.

Highlights of the features, presentations and surprises can be viewed in a video here.

"I am honored to support the CFP Foundation's Go Teach initiative and the Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway in a fantastic effort to recruit student athletes to pursue teaching degrees," said Woodson. "Our country is facing a teacher shortage, and the need has never been greater for qualified people to educate our kids. The team culture that comes with being a student athlete lends a skill set key to being a tremendous teacher. Congratulations to all the winners – they're all champions who will make an incredibly positive difference for the next generation."

"Dr Pepper has been a wonderful partner, and we are thrilled to have their continued support," said CFP Foundation Executive Director Britton Banowsky. "Our Go Teach project is an exciting initiative to encourage student athletes to pursue careers in education, and this generous tuition support will go a long way to ensure the continued expansion of the Go Teach project in the years to come."

The CFP Foundation and Dr Pepper are dedicated to growing the Go Teach initiative to place qualified teachers in classrooms across the nation. Launched in 2019 following a pilot program at the University of Texas at Austin, the Go Teach initiative quickly expanded to a dozen schools by the end of 2019. Today, more than 15 schools are participating in the Go Teach program and identifying creative ways to help student athletes move into the teaching profession.

"Dr Pepper has partnered with the CFP Foundation since 2015, and we are proud to expand our relationship to help even more student athletes realize their dreams of becoming a teacher," said Derek Dabrowski, Vice President of Brand Marketing for Dr Pepper. "Dr Pepper is synonymous with college football. This year has looked different than most due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why it's more than important than ever that we support students with big dreams who need the help in realizing them."

The Grand Prize Winners of $20,000 tuition grants (one for each of Dr Pepper's conference partners):