New Orleans Saints Pro Bowl linebacker and former Miami Hurricane Jonathan Vilma has donated $450,000 to the University of Miami athletic department, toward completing the funding for a new athletic center – the Theodore G. Schwartz and Todd G. Schwartz Center for Athletic Excellence, which is set for construction beginning in December.
In honor of the gift, the University will name the new players’ lounge in Vilma’s honor, but that wasn’t his motivation. “This donation is about the future, it’s about bringing the Hurricanes back on the horizon, bringing the Hurricanes back to dominance,” he told a group gathered Tuesday inside the Edgerrin James Team Meeting Room, named for another former Hurricane that had a great NFL career.
Vilma went on to comment on the importance of the UM family working together to help students reach their potential, “From business leaders to Super Bowl MVPs to leaders in the community to national championships, it’s our job as a Hurricane family that the current Canes that are sitting right here today reach their potential on and off the field. I want to be a part of that.”
Vilma also thanked his parents, who were in attendance, “You guys taught me to do what’s right and not what’s popular. Most importantly, you taught me to be a man and not just an adult. This donation is just as much our donation as it is mine.”
Hurricanes coach Al Golden was in attendance for the ceremony as well, and said of Vilma to the Miami Herald, “One of the things we talk about is gratitude and appreciation and I think this is the ultimate illustration of gratitude.”
Coach Golden went on to add, “All you have to do is listen to his speech. If that doesn’t move you or help you understand what it means to be a part of the University of Miami football program, I don’t know what will. That’s an amazing human being right there.”
The 29-year-old Vilma’s NFL success has put him in a position to be able to give back to the institutions that have mattered to him, and his upbringing have made that a priority in his life, “I’m old enough now to understand what it is to be rich, what it is to be wealthy. You get that in many different ways. And this is one of the ways to give back.”
