Support the Brothers of Lafayette Football Fund
Harrison Bailey III ’95, Quincy Miller ’97, and Jonathan Starks ’96 brought together a group of alumni football players of color after the murder of George Floyd and founded the Brothers of Lafayette Mentoring Program. The program is focused on providing current football players of color a safe space to voice general concerns and learn the building blocks needed to develop professionally. The program is unique in the sense that the players will have an advisory council of strong male role models who have “walked in the shoes of current players” through the Lafayette Experience both on and off the field.
Members of the Brothers of Lafayette with Director of Athletics Sherryta Freeman during the 2022 Rivalry Game.
Three years later 15 founding members launched the Brothers of Lafayette Football Fund to directly support student athletes of color through the committed vision of President Nicole Farmer Hurd, Athletics Director Sherryta Freeman and John Troxell ’94, Fred M. Kirby II ’42 Head Football Coach. We, the Brothers of Lafayette Alumni group, believe the stars have aligned and this administration is committed to academic and athletic excellence by ensuring that every member of the student community can take advantage of the full Lafayette experience.
One example of President Hurd’s commitment to an equitable Lafayette community is the historic recruitment of an incoming class (Class of 2027) comprised of 25% domestic students of color, 12.9% Pell Grant-eligible families, and 12.2% first-generation students.
Coach Troxell can now sit in front of parents of incoming student-athletes of color and say, ‘Your son is going to have a mentorship program and a group of successful male alumni will support him throughout his time here at Lafayette. This is so important, not only from a recruiting perspective but this is an example of how we do things differently here at Lafayette from other institutions.
~Quincy Miller ’97
Equally important and thanks to the Brothers of Lafayette, our college can now provide mentorship and support for first generation and underrepresented student-athletes so they can make the most of their Lafayette experience in the present and post-graduation.
How You Can Help
Jonathan Starks ’96, Harrison Bailey III ’95, Ian Grayson ‘23, and Quincy Miller ’97.
The Brothers of Lafayette’s first 15 donors have helped raise more than $125,000 toward their $1 million goal. To learn more or if you are interested in a multi-year commitment, contact Kathleen Marano, assistant director of major gifts at (610) 330-3352 or via email at maranok@lafayette.edu.
