National Basketball Association (NBA) Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has pledged to donate $1 million to Jackson State University.
Barkley’s friendship with former JSU head football coach Deion Sanders was a determining factor in his decision to give to the university. Barkley told AL.com that he wanted to show JSU some love because of the extraordinary things accomplished under Coach Prime’s leadership.
The TNT personality is also planning to donate the same amount of money to Bethune-Cookman University and to ALS research in Alabama in honor of a former Auburn teammate — Gary Godfrey — who was diagnosed with the disease in 2019.
Barkley’s contributions to JSU and BCU follow a series of donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The basketball icon has also donated to Alabama A&M University, Clark Atlanta University, Miles College, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Tuskegee University.
