Jerry Jones Gifts $10.65 Million to Razorback Athletics

Jerry Jones has been in a giving mood lately when it comes to his alma mater. It was announced today he and his wife have made a $10.65 million gift to the Razorbacks to help support various building projects on the Arkansas campus.

Note: this is separate from the 256-acre land gift Jones donated to the athletic department a few weeks ago. According to the press release "there are no immediate plans" for that land.

So where's this money going? To help fund the following:

The soon to be completed Student-Athlete Success Center:

A Wild Band of Razorbacks monument to establish a permanent tribute to the Razorbacks’ 1964 national championship football team:

Also: The football team locker room at the Fred W. Smith Football Center and the entrance lobby of the Student-Athlete Success Center

In recognition of the Jones’ gift, Arkansas will likely name the new facility the Jerry and Gene Jones Family Student-Athlete Success Center, pending only Board of Trustees approval.

The proposed Jerry and Gene Jones Family Student-Athlete Success Center is supposed to be approximately 55,000 sq. foot (SF) and will include 30+ tutor rooms, 5,000 SF of open study and lounge space, 3,800 SF of computer and group lab space, a 125+ seat auditorium, 90+ seat multi-purpose room, a nutrition center with a full-service kitchen and seating for more than 250 student-athletes, a wellness wing for a sports psychologist and dieticians as well as areas specific to Student-Athlete Development and Accelerated Learning.

It will be located at the corner of Meadow St and Stadium Dr between Pomfret Hall and John McDonnell Field. It should be completed later this year.

The Student-Athlete Success Center will become the new home of the Bogle Academic Center and will help meet the needs of student-athletes by providing multiple learning environments including academic advising and course preparation, leadership training through the Razorback Leadership Academy, career planning and service learning.

The "Wild Band of Razorbacks" monument, made possible by Jerry Jones, will consist of six Razorbacks, accented by custom lighting and water features. The bronze monument will be placed along Razorback Road on the northwest corner of the lawn of the Fred W. Smith Football Center, just south of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The full monument will be approximately 20 feet high and 30 feet wide, with bronze Razorback hogs six feet tall and 12 to 14 feet long.

The monument was designed by master sculptor Dick Idol. Idol says that when completed the "Wild Band of Razorbacks" monument will be one of the "the finest and most spectacular mascot based sculptures in North America." This whole paragraph is amazing.

Designed as a complete work of art, the monument includes six Razorbacks representing individual characteristics indicative of the University of Arkansas and the Razorback Nation – Passion, Courage, Victory, Integrity, Unity and a Relentless Nature.

The entrance lobby of the Jerry and Gene Jones Family Student-Athlete Success Center will be named in honor of Mr. and Mrs. John Chambers. The Chambers are the parents of Gene Jones.