NEW ORLEANS (September 15, 2026) – The Allstate Sugar Bowl celebrated the College Football Playoff Foundation's Big Day for Teachers with $15,000 donations to two local schools. Each school also selected one teacher to receive a $1,000 grant for their classroom.

The Big Day for Teachers takes place annually as part of the CFP Foundation's Extra Yard for Teachers Week. It is a coordinated nationwide event to spotlight teachers. The entire college football community comes together to honor, celebrate, and provide grants or classroom resources to educators across the country.  

The two schools chosen for this year's funding were ReNEW Laurel Elementary in New Orleans and Harold Keller Elementary in Jefferson Parish.

Each school's leadership was tasked with choosing one teacher who they wanted to award $1,000 grant for their classroom. Unbeknownst to them, the Allstate Sugar Bowl and its CEO Jeff Hundley had plans to surprise them both with $15,000 donations for their entire schools.

At ReNEW Laurel, students and faculty gathered to celebrate Nicole Tate, a grade 6 ELA teacher, who was was touted as "one of the hardest-working teachers on staff, five years in and still remarkably consistent." She is a military veteran, still active, and provides strong classroom management and accountability for her students.

The school has grown by 11 points in Mastery+ on the LEAP assessment since 2019. Glenda Poole and Kim Andrews, the lower and upper school principals, were there to celebrate Tate and accept the $15,000 on the school's behalf.

At Harold Keller, principal Jessica Smith chose Coach Bobby Ledoux to receive the $1,000 classroom grant. Because Coach Ledoux has been a "team player and champion for all students", she gathered the entire school to surprise him. "Coach Ledoux has helped strengthen our school culture, motivate students, and create an environment where every student has the opportunity to succeed," said principal Smith.

Once again, Hundley and the Sugar Bowl turned the surprise on principal Smith to award $15,000 to the entire Harold Keller school. Under Smith's leadership, Keller's School Performance Score has grown from an overall C to a B, showing what can happen when a school community comes together around high expectations and a shared commitment to students.

In partnership with the College Football Playoff Foundation, the Allstate Sugar Bowl has directed $5 million toward the support of New Orleans area teachers over the past six years.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 114 Hall of Fame players, 55 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 92-year history. The 93rd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will serve as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, will be played on January 15, 2027. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships, and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.6 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit www.AllstateSugarBowl.org.