STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Honoring a legacy.
 
The Cotton Bowl Foundation and Cotton Bowl Athletic Association presented a $75,000 endowed gift to Penn State to help fund the creation of the Wally Triplett-Cotton Bowl Football Player Development Program in honor of the 75th anniversary of Triplett and Dennie Hoggard being the first two Black players to play in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
 
CBAA Director of Communications Scottie Rodgers presented a Champions Award trophy to Penn State Football Letterman's Club President Lydell Sargent during the Nittany Lions' Senior Day game against Rutgers on Saturday, Nov. 18, to commemorate this momentous partnership.
 
The endowment will be utilized to enrich the experience of Penn State football student-athletes, inspired by the legacy of Wally Triplett, in the areas of career development, alumni networking, community service and educational sessions featuring influential speakers and business leaders. The program created by these funds will create experiences like no other for these student-athletes to help them succeed on the field, in the classroom and in life after college.
 
Triplett and Hoggard were on the Nittany Lion squad that faced Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker and SMU in the 12th Cotton Bowl Classic on Jan. 1, 1948. Triplett caught the game-tying touchdown and Hoggard narrowly missed catching the game-winning touchdown on the final play of the game that ended in a 13-13 tie. The score was secondary to the significance of the game as it was the first integrated football game in Texas and the second in the South.
 
Triplett went on to be the first African American taken in the National Football League Draft to play for an NFL team. He and Walker were teammates in the NFL with the Detroit Lions. For his impact, Triplett was inducted into the Cotton Bowl Classic Hall of Fame in 2018.
 
Recognition of this anniversary and the creation of the endowment will be highlighted during the 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic set for Friday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN and ESPN Radio.
 
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