UNC receives ‘transformational gift’ and will rename football field at Kenan Stadium

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The North Carolina football program, coming off a successful first season in the return of Mack Brown as coach, will benefit from the biggest financial gift in the history of UNC athletics.

The school announced Monday that the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation had made a “transformational commitment” to the Rams Club and athletics program that will honor their son, Chris, while providing funding needs for staffing, facility improvements and in building an endowment to cover future operating costs in the program.

UNC did not disclose the exact financial value of the gift.

The foundation is headed by UNC graduate Eddie Smith Jr. of Greenville and was co-founded with his late wife, Jo Allison Smith. The playing field at Kenan Stadium will be named Chris Smith Field.

Chris Smith, a 1987 UNC graduate, is a member of the Rams Club executive board and has been involved in other university and UNC athletics leadership roles.

“This gift helps give us the means to continue building a program representative of the excellence we see every day at UNC and to ensure that same excellence will remain into the future,” Brown said in a statement. “We often talk about our Carolina Football Family, and the Smiths have been a major part of that for a long time. Family has always been important to them and we’re so glad they will remain associated with the program through this gift and field naming.”

Brown returned to UNC last year and revitalized the program, coaching the Tar Heels to a 7-6 record capped by a 55-13 win over Temple in the Military Bowl, UNC’s first bowl victory since the 2013 Belk Bowl.

“Our family believes in the positive impact the University of North Carolina and its athletic program can have on our communities,” Eddie Smith said in a statement. “Watching the Tar Heels play in Kenan Stadium has been a family affair for over 60 years, and it was important to us to support Coach Mack Brown and his vision for Carolina Football. To be able to honor my son Chris — someone who has shared my passion for Carolina and for promoting positive leadership qualities — is very special. It’s a blessing for us to be able to provide a lasting legacy for Carolina and its football program.”

The Smith family has previously made major gifts that helped build the Eddie Smith Field House, named for Eddie Smith Jr.’s father; the Jo Allison Smith Football Strength & Conditioning Center; the Chris Smith Training Room for Carolina Basketball, the Smith Family Suite Level at Boshamer Stadium, and the William Clary Officials’ Locker Room at Kenan Stadium, named for Jo Allison Smith’s father.

“Their generosity will help position our football program to sustain a high level of excellence for years to come, and it will make an impact on all of our students and coaches because it will allow us to apply other resources across our entire program,” UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham said in a statement.

The Smiths through the years also have supported the UNC School of Medicine, where the family has established professorships, fellowships and clinical research funds; Kenan-Flagler Business School, the UNC College of Arts & Sciences and the University Libraries.

“Eddie and his family have made a difference on every corner of our campus, and by extension our state, nation and world,” chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in a statement.

Smith is owner, chairman and CEO of Grady-White Boats. He is a past member of the UNC board of trustees and chair of the Rams Club. He also has served on the Boards of Visitors for the University and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Centers.

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