But to anyone who is now in (or has graduated from) college, you know that tuition is more than likely to bump up by the time these kids are ready. The forward has been sponsoring this for five years and is happy to have a program where kids get to see past high school. The qualifications are still being determined, but the requirements will include coming up through Akron’s public school system, meeting standardized test results, and community service.
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Through a partnership between the school and his LeBron James Family Foundation, the 1,100 children now in his “I Promise” program will receive a fully sponsored scholarship.
In the interview with ESPN, James said that he wanted to give kids from his area a better opportunity to further their education.
Michael Jordan, the near consensus choice as the greatest basketball player of all-time, recently said there’s “no question” he’d beat LeBron James in a game of one-on-one. The Cleveland Cavaliers MVP shared his personal insights as a child “growing up in the inner city”.
James said that giving back to the community like this is why he does what he does. As those students enter middle school, they are moved to the foundation’s Akron I PROMISE Network, where they remain through high school. James was raised in Akron and played high school basketball there. Would LeBron have been able to do what Jordan did with Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen and company?
As part of the announcement, the university renamed its College of Education after James’ foundation. The first class eligible for the scholarships will graduate in 2021. This is a program that rewards earning your way into college.
People will say many things about LeBron James (and, the internet being the internet, those things won’t be particularly kind), but this is awesome.
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“We’re excited about this, and it does represent what the university wants to be about in the future”, University of Akron President Dr. Scott Scarborough added.
