KNOXVILLE – Neyland Scholars were recognized Saturday at the University of Tennessee during the East Tennessee Hall of Fame luncheon and the Orange and White football game.
The scholars are chosen for outstanding academic achievement in honor of General Robert R. Neyland, former UT head football coach and athletic director.
Neyland, whose 1951 Vols won the national football championship, had 173 wins, 31 losses, and 12 ties. His teams at one point went 62-1 in regular season games, won 36 straight and held 42 teams scoreless.
After Neyland-s death in 1962, colleagues and others, including Gen. Douglas MacArthur, motion picture producer-director Clarence Brown, sportscaster Lindsey Nelson, Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, journalist Felix McKnight of Dallas, Texas, and Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson, established this scholarship for academically superior students.
The Neyland Scholarship Fund has a market value of $3.3 million. The four-year award is specifically designated for outstanding undergraduate students entering UT. Four incoming freshmen are chosen annually. Fifteen students, four from each class, hold the $5,000 awards each year.
The 2001-2002 scholars were honored at both events, which included congratulations from Robert R. Neyland Jr., representing the Neyland family.
The scholars, all from Tennessee unless noted otherwise, and their majors are:
Robert Bundy, architecture, Knoxville;
Jennifer Brantley, mechanical engineering, Suisun City, Calif.;
Christina Campbell, nuclear engineering, Burlison;
Joseph Christian, college scholars, Knoxville;
Elizabeth Nicole Cook, college scholars, Niota;
Candace Garner, political science and psychology, Knoxville;
Julia Jackson, arts and sciences – pre-med, Church Hill;
Abbey Jones, biochemistry, Gatlinburg;
Bart Lynch, nuclear engineering, Murfreesboro;
Adam Masterson, university scholars, Knoxville;
Dustin Parr, computer science, Cottage Grove;
Van Shaver, sports management, Lenoir City;
Adrienne Taylor, arts and sciences – undecided, Trenton;
Emma Taylor, Russian and Italian, Pigeon Forge;
Kari Tjader, chemical engineering, Kingsport.