The National Hockey League (NHL) has entered into an agreement with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) to provide college scholarships for students who have participated in the NHL’s Hockey Is For Everyone program. Beginning in 2013, students who participated in the youth hockey program, which is geared toward offering children of diverse backgrounds the opportunity to play hockey, will be eligible for scholarships to attend any one of the 47 historically Black public universities supported by the TMCF.
Money to support the scholarship program will be raised in part through the Congressional Hockey Challenge, a benefit game pitting members of Congress against a team of registered lobbyists.
Johnny C. Taylor Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, stated: “The emergence of a partnership such as this between the National Hockey League and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund provides an opportunity for African American youth to expand their horizons and participate in a sport that has not been historically embraced. This not only serves as an opportunity for more engagement with the sport of hockey, but it is also a pathway to higher education.”
Gary Bettman, commissioner of the National Hockey League, has been elected to the board of directors of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
