The Extra Yard, June 2025

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF FOUNDATION

JUNE 2025

NEWSLETTER

A TRUE HONOR Recognizing Great Educators with the Life-Changing Teacher Awards

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s each school year comes to a close, educators and students are often celebrated at awards ceremonies, which is the case with the Honored Schools Life-Changing Teacher Awards. Regional recipients for the 2024-25 academic year were selected from each by a local panel of community leaders in consultation with principals from Honored Schools. The selection criteria focuses on the important impact the honoree has made on his or her students’ lives.

These award-winning teachers, who reside and work in communities that have previously hosted the College Football Playoff National Championship, each received $2,000 in DonorsChoose funds for classroom resources, plus a $500 Visa Gift Card cash award. These educators and their nominating students will also be featured on HonoredSchools.org.

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2025 WINNERS ATLANTA Amy Cossio Amanda Sperberg HOUSTON Kaitlyn Floyd Yolanda Merritt James Moore Cinthya Ramirez Andrew Stewart Renisha Wiley INDIANAPOLIS Sarah Dodd Andrea Evans Anne Fernkas Gregory Lineweaver Alma Maldonado Rachele Yencer

INGLEWOOD Catherine Etuk Carlos Gonzalez Efren Torres NEW ORLEANS LaQuinta Banks Beau Bratcher Roselyn Davis An’Jel Moore Aimee Veal Victoria Williams

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NOLA TEACHER FEST Celebrating for Our Educators During Teachers Appreciation Week More than 2,300 local educators, representing all 67 of New Orleans’ public schools, gathered at Champions Square on Friday, May 2, for New Schools for New Orleans’ fourth annual NOLA Teacher Fest, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the College Football Playoff Foundation.

The beloved annual celebration recognized the dedication of public-school teachers across the city with special acknowledgment for those who have served New Orleans students for 20 years or more, navigating the city’s greatest challenges such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

EXTRA YARD MAKEOVERS Creating Better Learning Spaces One School at a Time In the program’s history, the CFP Foundation has implemented more than 100 Extra Yard Makeovers, including 12 that have already been revealed in 2025. Between the start of the 2020-21 academic year through the end of the 2025-26 school year, all Miami-Dade schools in South Florida will have received a makeover on its campus.

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hrough the Go Teach Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway, the CFP Foundation’s Go Teach initiative continues its mission to address teacher shortages by encouraging student-athletes to pursue careers in education. This year, more than 100 studentathletes from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), including Notre Dame, plus Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), have benefitted. These efforts underscore the CFP Foundation’s commitment to elevating the teaching profession and supporting educators nationwide.

Now in the fifth year of a six-year program, Dr Pepper has invested $3 million into the recognition of the State Teachers of the Year at

the national championship game, as well as the current Go Teach Dr Pepper Tuition giveaway program. Since its launch, 479 student-athletes have been awarded a total of $1.7 million in tuition to support their goals to become a teacher and/or coach. By the end of the sixyear period, the program will have recognized nearly 600 student-athletes with more than $2 million in tuition assistance.

Congratulations to the 2024-25 Go Teach Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway recipients and the 10 grand prize winners from each FBS conference and the HBCUs. All recipients received a tuition award of $2,500, while the grand prize honorees received an additional $10,000.

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GO TEACH CELEBRATES FUTURE TEACHERS

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hen access to teaching programs and pipelines are provided as early as high school, it helps create a better chance to increase the pool and diversity of future classroom leaders. For that reason, as part of its Go Teach initiative, the CFP Foundation’s Grow Your Own platform provides high schools across the country with education and training programs to assist with the marketing and recruitment of future teachers. In addition to access to national recognition programs and tuition support for students, Go Teach Grow Your Own partners also receive swag and marketing

materials. The program began with a donation announcement of 500 devices to the students and families of Milby High School on behalf of AT&T and Compudopt. Soon after, Chris Massey (Vice President of Harris County Houston’s Sports Authority), Cary Wright (CEO of Good Reason Houston, and Tom Ramsey (Harris County Commissioner Precinct 3 practitioner) welcomed all in attendance and thanked them for their selfless commitments and servitude.

Slam poet and emcee Joaquín Zihuatanejo then took the reins of the event and kicked off the heartwarming afternoon of motivation.

The program has been expanded to celebrate high school students in multiple markets.

Last year the program celebrated close to 3,000 high school students:

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1,800 IN GEORGIA

700 IN MIAMI

200 IN NEW ORLEANS

100 IN HOUSTON

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MIAMI LOVES TEACHERS

The CFP Foundation is Making a Lasting Impact in South Florida Classrooms Ahead of the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship

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s excitement builds for the 2026 College Football Education Fund and Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

Playoff National Championship, set for Monday, This program will provide current and future teachers January 19 at Hard Rock Stadium, the CFP with access to job boards, as well as professional Foundation is already hard at work development resources creating meaningful impact across and access to community South Florida — well beyond the appreciation events. Learn more at game itself. miamilovesteachers.org.

In collaboration with local These efforts represent a $3 partners, the CFP Foundation million investment by the CFP is rolling out a comprehensive Foundation and Miami Host strategy to support and celebrate Committee in support of teachers educators across the region. across South Florida.

Through its Extra Yard for Teachers “The Orange Bowl has been (EYFT) platform, the CFP Foundation a longtime partner and we are partners with institutions of thrilled to build on our work in higher education, as well as South Florida from the 2021 CFP school districts, corporations and National Championship, supporting BRITTON BANOWSKY CFP FOUNDATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR nonprofits, to elevate the teaching educators by creating the Miami profession and improve student Loves Teachers community,” outcomes. said Britton Banowsky, executive director of the CFP Alongside the 2026 Miami Host Committee, the CFP Foundation. “Each year, we collaborate with local Foundation has launched the Miami Loves Teachers educators and the host committee to ensure our platform, a long-term initiative developed with the strategy creates lasting, meaningful impact.”

Each year, we collaborate with local educators and the host committee to ensure our strategy creates lasting, meaningful impact.

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COMING TOGETHER

The CFP Foundation, CFP Bowl Games and School Specialty are Helping Restore a Historic School in Southern California

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he College Football Playoff Foundation, in and Altadena and at Eliot Arts Magnet School,” said conjunction with its Extra Yard Makeover partner Britton Banowsky, executive director of the CFP School Specialty, as well as the six CFP bowl Foundation. “It’s a historic moment as all of the CFP games, have joined together to bowls are aligned to support this pledge a total of $1.5 million toward very important project.” the restoration of Eliot Arts Magnet The historic library at Eliot Arts School in Altadena, California, was initially refurbished in 2023 which was destroyed by the Eaton through a partnership between wildfire in January. the CFP Foundation, the Pasadena The CFP Foundation pledged a Tournament of Roses, the Pasadena minimum of $1.2 million, and the Educational Foundation (PEF), and Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Vrbo School Specialty. While the primary Fiesta Bowl, Capital One Orange exterior structure of the school Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, remained intact following the fires, Rose Bowl Game presented by the interior was severely damaged.

Prudential, and Allstate Sugar Bowl In response, the PUSD board passed have all contributed to the effort. a resolution in January to rebuild School Specialty has also donated the school.

BRITTON BANOWSKY approximately $300,000 to support The CFP Foundation and the CFP FOUNDATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR the needs of the Pasadena Unified Tournament of Roses have long School District (PUSD), including Eliot Arts. The initiative supported PUSD and the PEF, providing teacher will also provide support to McKinley Middle School, grants and library resources over the years. The CFP where Eliot Arts students are currently relocated.

Foundation entered into a three-year grant agreement “We are grateful to have so many generous partners with the PEF to ensure sustained investment in the willing to come together to help our friends in Pasadena restoration of Eliot Arts.

We are grateful to have so many generous partners willing to come together to help our friends in Pasadena and Altadena and at Eliot Arts Magnet School.

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