Ole Miss’ Mac Brown a Nominee for 2021 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team
Senior Punter has Raised Over $125,000 for ALS Research
NORTHBROOK, Ill. – (Courtesy of Ole Miss Media Relations) Ole Miss senior punter Mac Brown is among the nominees for the 2021 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, the American Football Coaches Association announced Wednesday.
Established in 1992, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team is one of the most coveted community service awards in college football. From the 109 nominees, the final roster of 23 award recipients will bring together 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision; 11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA); and one honorary head coach.
To be considered for a spot on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, each player must be actively involved with a charitable organization or service group while maintaining a strong academic standing.
When he was in seventh grade, Brown had a modest goal of raising $500 for a childhood friend’s dad who had been diagnosed with ALS. Along with a group of neighborhood friends, Brown started a lemonade stand, Awesome Lemonade Stand, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, to help his friend’s family.
10 years later, that $500 goal has ballooned to over $125,000 raised by Brown and his friends for ALS research. The Awesome Lemonade Stand is held on a late day in June and the 2021 fundraiser raised nearly $25,000 alone.
Besides the Awesome Lemonade Stand, Brown has participated in many community service activities around the Oxford and Mississippi area including: Student-Athlete Advisory Council, Sweetheart for residents at The Blake in Oxford, Reading with the Rebels, Hope to Dream, Special Olympics, plus much more.
Brown, the 2020-21 Brad Davis Community Service Leader of the Year, averaged a career-best 46.6 yards per punt last season for the Rebels. 11 of Brown’s 27 punts went for more than 50 yards. He will take advantage of the extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19 and will return for the 2021 season.
(Photo credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
