With the hope of a continued nationally competitive future for Ole Miss Athletics, University of Mississippi alumnus Greg Whitehead has increased the estimated amount of a planned gift he made in 2016 from $100,000 to $1 million.
“It seems like as soon as Keith Carter became director of athletics, just about every Ole Miss team has improved to a championship level,” said Whitehead, a graduate of the UM School of Business Administration. “I just want that to continue, and I want it to be part of my legacy — that I contributed to the success of the program.”
Whitehead’s estate gift will provide ongoing scholarships to Ole Miss student-athletes. A former student-athlete himself — he played baseball for Itawamba Community College for two years before transferring to Ole Miss — the donor knows how much financial support helps a program.
“I started becoming a Rebel fan when I was considering what to do after community college,” Whitehead recalled. “I looked at some different schools and Ole Miss stood out, even back then.
“Ole Miss gets under your skin and the campus has something magical about it,” he continued. “The beauty and the spirit of it just spoke to me, and I thought Ole Miss would be the best place for me to go to school and get my degree. What a great decision that was!”
His decision, Whitehead said, is the foundation of his role in Rebel Nation. The Tampa Bay Ole Miss Club was fairly inactive when he became president over a decade ago. Today, under his continued leadership, the club is thriving.
“We’ve had a lot of growth here and a lot of enthusiasm with the Ole Miss chapter in Tampa Bay,” said Whitehead, a Zion, Illinois, native. “We’ve got a really good location for our watch parties every game day. It’s owned by Ole Miss alumnus TJ Malouf and his wife, Kim, and we rule the roost there.
“We’ve got the banquet room with Ole Miss bling all over the place and the servers wear Ole Miss T-shirts, so it’s a fun gathering spot. We all enjoy our time together.”
The enthusiasm around Ole Miss sports in general helps the university with enrollment and builds notoriety for the university, Whitehead said, crediting the university for his success after college.
“It really helped in a number of ways: what I leaned in the classroom from inspirational professors and through osmosis in learning social skills and how to cooperate with people and just getting out into the world. It’s the intangible,” Whitehead said. “The overall experience of being at Ole Miss prepared me for success after college and has carried through all aspects of my life.”
Whitehead’s estate gift to Forever Ole Miss, the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation’s planned gift program, awards the donor membership in the 1848 Society, named for the year the university welcomed its first students. The society recognizes generous donors who thoughtfully provide for the university through planned and deferred gifts.
“We went a long time without a championship-caliber team and just being a fan through those lean years makes winning even sweeter. You have a reward for your patience and your faith,” Whitehead said in explaining his decision to increase his gift.
“Ole Miss is such a great school, and I’ve always thought one day it would all come together. I think that’s happening now with the leadership from Chancellor Glenn Boyce and Keith Carter.”
Whitehead is the owner of a Tampa-based sales and marketing company in the wholesale home furnishings industry. His gift sets an example for others to follow, said Carter, vice chancellor for intercollegiate athletics.
“Many people feel the need to give to Ole Miss Athletics in the present and we are very grateful for those gifts, but it’s also important to know that a planned gift for athletics is another viable way to provide support,” Carter said. “Generations of our student-athletes will receive the return on this particular investment. Greg should feel very proud of that.”
For information on including the University of Mississippi in long-term estate and financial plans, alumni and friends can visit www.umfoundation.planmylegacy.org or contact Marc Littlecott, advancement director for estate and planned giving, at marcplan@olemiss.edu or 662-915-6625.
To make a Forever Ole Miss gift through Ole Miss Athletics, click here, or contact Quinn Kavanagh, assistant athletics director of development, at kavanagh@givetoathletics.com or 662-915-7159.
By Bill Dabney/UM Foundation