KNOXVILLE — Recipients of the University of Tennessee’s Neyland scholarships were announced during the East Tennessee Chapter of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Awards brunch April 8. The students were then honored at UT’s Fan Day at Neyland Stadium during halftime of the Orange and White football game.
The scholars are chosen for outstanding academic achievement and leadership skills in honor of Gen. Robert R. Neyland, former UT head football coach and athletic director.
Robert R. Neyland Jr., was on hand at both events to represent the Neyland family and to congratulate the students on their accomplishments.
Following are the 2005-06 scholars, all from Tennessee:
-Jason Alfrey, mechanical engineering, Knoxville
-Robert “Rob” Bundy, architecture, Knoxville
-Jennifer Leigh Buntin, marketing and logistics, Ripley
-David Crenshaw, business studies and marketing, Nashville
-Craig Alan Davis, biology, Gallatin
-Soumyo Dutta, mechanical engineering, Goodlettsville
-Katherine Collier Frederick, mathematics, Tullahoma
-Lindsay George, nutrition, Oak Ridge
-Caroline Glyn Horner, biochemistry and molecular biology,
Brentwood
-Nicholas Jones, computer engineering, McMinnville
-Christopher Martin, literature and philosophy, Clarksville
-William “Brad” O’Dell, chemistry, Newport
-Shalena Irene Parker, literature and creative writing,
Cookeville
-Brett Tyler Penley, political science, Kingsport
-Lisa Sain, accounting, Memphis
-Michael Stuart Saylor, political science, Franklin
-Emily Rebecca Steffan, college scholar, Memphis
-Jamie Troupe, ecology and evolutionary biology, Tullahoma
-Paige Utley, special education and pre-physical therapy,
Tullahoma
-Georgia Varlan, political science and history, Knoxville
-Megan Carol Welch, finance, Oneida
-Daniel Wells, biomedicine, Memphis
-Elizabeth Marie Wilson, college scholar, Strawberry Plains
-Joseph Samuel Wright, college scholar, Murfreesboro
Neyland, whose 1951 Vols won the national football championship, had 173 wins, 31 losses and 12 ties. His team went 62-1 in regular season games at one point, won 36 straight games and held 42 teams scoreless.
After Neyland’s death in 1962, colleagues, along with some nationally known friends, including Gen. Douglas MacArthur, motion picture producer-director Clarence Brown, sportscaster Lindsey Nelson, Paul “Bear” Bryant of Alabama, journalist Felix McKnight of Dallas and Bud Wilkinson of Oklahoma, launched a nationwide campaign to raise funds in support of this scholarship for academically superior students.
The Neyland Scholarship fund provides a four-year award of $7,000 annually and is specifically designated for outstanding undergraduate students. Eight incoming freshmen were chosen to receive the award this year. Twenty-five students hold the award currently.
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Contact:
Susan Ballentine, director of stewardship (865-974-2115, ballentine@utk.edu)
Beth Gladden, media relations (865-974-9008, beth.gladden@tennessee.edu)
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