COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—San José State men’s track and field athlete Jacob Lopez has been award $2,500 in tuition from the College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation and Dr. Pepper as part of the Go Teach Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway, as announced by the Mountain West on Wednesday.
Lopez, a senior from Canyon Country, Calif., is a thrower on the Spartan men’s track and field team majoring in kinesiology. He finished sixth in the shot put and 11th in the discus at the 2023 MW Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Lopez is one of eight Mountain West student-athletes awarded $2,500 in tuition. Campus representatives recommended all student-athlete recipients based on their aspirations to pursue a career in teaching or coaching, with the grand prize winner selected by the Mountain West.
This is the fourth year of the Go Teach Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway, part of a collective six-year effort between the CFP Foundation and Dr Pepper, awarding more than $1.5 million in tuition to student- athletes looking to become teachers. This fund is in addition to Dr Pepper’s Tuition Giveaway program and includes all 10 FBS conferences, the University of Notre Dame, and HBCUʻs. Up to 150 student-athletes will be awarded $2,500 in tuition each year, and 11 grand-prize recipients will receive an additional $10,000 tuition grant – one student per conference.
“Student-athletes make great teachers,” said CFP Foundation Executive Director Britton Banowsky. “We are so thankful to have the support of Dr Pepper and conference partners like the Mountain West to help us identify student-athletes interested in pursuing a career in education so that we build a great pipeline of teachers.”
The CFP Foundation and Dr Pepper are dedicated to growing the Go Teach initiative to place qualified teachers in classrooms nationwide. Launched in 2018 through a pilot program at the University of Texas at Austin, the Go Teach initiative quickly expanded to a dozen schools by the end of 2019.
The CFP Foundation is the largest sports entity supporting K-12 educators in America. For more information about the CFP Foundation, visit cfp-foundation.org.
About the College Football Playoff Foundation and Extra Yard for Teachers
The CFP Foundation is the community engagement arm of the College Football Playoff, supporting education across the country. The CFP Foundation’s primary cause platform, Extra Yard for Teachers, is dedicated to elevating the teaching profession by inspiring and empowering teachers in four focus areas: resources, recognition, recruitment, and professional development. The CFP Foundation utilizes multiple partnerships to execute its initiatives and support positive educational outcomes. To learn more, visit cfp-foundation.org and follow Extra Yard for Teachers (@CFPExtraYard) on social media.
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