When he was formally introduced as Georgia’s new athletic director, Josh Brooks made it a point to talk about how important it was for him to give back to the Athens community.

Brooks has already demonstrated that, as he donated $100,000 to create a new need-based scholarship to support local University of Georgia students from Athens-Clarke County.

“I love this town, this community, and I want to help make a difference here locally,” said Brooks. “I have three children who go to school here in Athens-Clarke County, I live here in Athens, and I’m aware of how many kids are in need in this county, so it is important to me to help these students find a pathway to the University of Georgia.”

The scholarship will be called the Marlise O. Harrell Georgia Commitment Scholarship, honoring Brooks’ late mother-in-law.

Brooks actually mentioned creating the need-based scholarship in his introductory press conference. Prior to becoming Georgia’s athletic director, he served as the Deputy Athletic Director since May 2018. Brooks replaced Greg McGarity, who retired at the end of 2020.

This initiative is just the latest from Georgia when it comes to supporting the local Athens community. There is the Dawgs for Pups initiative as well as Georgia raising over $100,000 to help bring Wi-Fi for kids in the community.

“There’s just tremendous need in this county, and I want to help,” Brooks said. “I think anything we can do to help kids in Clarke County whether to know that they have a future and could be a part of attending this university. I want to do everything in my power to help that.”

Related: Georgia AD Josh Brooks good fit for Kirby Smart

Georgia president Jere Morehead thanked Brooks for his donation.

“This generous gift reaffirms Josh’s commitment to the success of University of Georgia students,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “I am very excited about the future of UGA Athletics with Josh at the helm, and this scholarship gift is a terrific start to his tenure. Need-based aid is a vital tool to improve our university, so we are grateful to Josh for his support in that area.”

Georgia introduces Josh Brooks as Athletic Director