CLEVELAND – The McLendon Foundation proudly announces its 25th class of McLendon Scholars, marking a milestone in its mission to cultivate the next generation of sports leaders. As of the 2025-26 academic year, the McLendon Foundation has awarded over 150 scholarships, providing more than $1.75 million in financial support. This milestone reflects the Foundation's steadfast commitment to empowering talent in sports and ensuring access to advanced educational opportunities.
  
This year, a record number of applications underscored the McLendon Foundation's rising influence and impact. From this highly competitive pool, 11 exceptional scholars have been selected. These scholars are poised to drive innovation across the sports industry, with ambitions spanning athletic administration, football operations, marketing, grassroots development, athlete engagement, sports technology, financial strategy, and analytics.
 
"Our 25th cohort includes 11 emerging scholars, with two enrolling at UMass Amherst this fall," said Adrien Harraway, Foundation Director. "Each scholar represents our continued commitment to advancing Coach McLendon's legacy and expanding pathways in sports leadership." 

Through the support of the Fiesta Bowl Foundation's endowment commitment to the Foundation, a Postgraduate Scholarship is awarded each year to a student associated with an Arizona-based four-year institution. The McLendon Scholarship, presented by the Fiesta Bowl, is being awarded to Esther Akinlosotu, who is pursuing a graduate degree from the University of Arizona.
 
This year, we are thrilled to award two McLendon-McCormack Scholarships to Jelani Sherwood and Roy Thompson, who will be enrolling in the Master of Business Administration / Master of Science in Sport Management dual degree program at UMass Amherst this Fall.

We are also proud to welcome our inaugural CIAA Scholar, Ashlynn Hill, who is currently pursuing her master's degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Funding for the scholarship program has been provided in part by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA); the Cleveland Cavaliers; Major League Baseball (MLB); the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC); the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA); the National Basketball Association (NBA); the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA); Capital One; and Sears, Roebuck and Co. 

 
About the McLendon Foundation 
Established in 1999 and administered by NACDA, the McLendon Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to developing the next generation of sports leaders. Through its scholarship and leadership programs, the Foundation provides educational resources, career opportunities, and a robust network to support aspiring professionals in the sports industry. 
 

About Fiesta Sports Foundation
Since its inception in 1971, the Fiesta Sports Foundation has been a world-class community organization that executes innovative experiences, drives economic growth and champions charitable causes, inspiring pride in all Arizonans during and outside of college football bowl season. As a nonprofit organization, it is driven by its vision to create unforgettable experiences through world-class sporting events, unparalleled hospitality and life-changing community impact. Through the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Rate Bowl and its year-round events, including the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Lerner & Rowe, corporate partnerships and numerous community events throughout the year, the Foundation provides charitable resources to support Arizona nonprofit organizations that serve communities through a focus on youth, sports and education. Learn more at www.FiestaSportsFoundation.org and @Fiesta_Bowl on X/Instagram.

  
About the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management 
The Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is one of the few sport management programs housed within a business school: the Isenberg School of Management. U.S. News & World Report ranks Isenberg as a Top 20 public undergraduate business school, while its online MBA is ranked #3 in the world by Financial Times (2019). The Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management is one of the oldest such programs in the world, and the program's network includes more than 4,000 sport industry alumni, featuring leaders and innovators within every segment of the commercial sports industry. The department has one of the top undergraduate programs in the country, and its graduate program – consisting of Master's (MS) level as well as dual-degree (MBA/MS) concentrations – is currently ranked #1 in the world by industry standard Sport Business.
 
About the CIAA 
Founded in 1912, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is the first, and longest running, African American athletic conference in the U.S. and one of the most recognized conferences in Division II. The CIAA conducts 14 championships attended by more than 150,000 fans from around the country. In 2020, the conference celebrated the special 75th anniversary of its Championship Basketball Tournament - an event that has become a must-see in the African American community. The Basketball Tournament has been honored as a 2019 Champion of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism by Sports Destination Management, the leading publication with the largest circulation of sports event planners and tournament directors in the sports tourism market, for both 2018 and 2019.