University of Tennessee Athletics
Tipton Recipient of 12th Annual Peyton Manning Scholarship
June 22, 2009 | Football
June 22, 2009
Joseph Hunter Tipton, an honors graduate from Maryville High School in Maryville, Tenn., has been named 2009 recipient of the Peyton Manning Scholarship. The scholarship has been awarded annually since 1998 to a first-year student participating in UT's Honors Program in honor of Manning, the former Vols signal-caller, co-captain and 1997 All-America selection.
Peyton Manning and UT Director of Financial Aid Jeff Gerkin joined Hunter and his parents David and Donna along with his brothers Taylor and Spenser, his friend Scott McAmis, and his track and cross country coach Tim Carnes during the June 22 ceremony at the Thornton Athletics Student Life Center. The presentation took place directly in front of the "Peyton Manning Study Area," another byproduct of the Manning years at Tennessee.
"Time sure has a way of slipping by," Manning said. "Hunter now gives us a dozen Manning Scholarship recipients since it was first awarded back in 1998. He clearly upholds the outstanding academic standards that this scholarship has come to embody, and he is an accomplished student-athlete as well. I'm certainly proud to add Hunter to what has become an elite group of deserving scholarship recipients. He's earned it."
Tipton graduated from Maryville High School with a 4.00 GPA, an ACT score of 34 and was named Valedictorian, the highest academically ranked student in his graduating class. He becomes the eighth in-state recipient and the first from Maryville.
The future UT student was captain of the cross country and track teams, as well as the swimming team while at MHS. He was named All-State in track twice and lettered in cross country, track and swimming during his career.
The incoming freshman also was busy in the classroom while at MHS. He was Vice President of the Class Officer Club and a member of several academic school clubs. Tipton also is one of only 15 Chancellor's Honor students chosen to participate in this year's Haslam Scholars Program, an in-depth enrichment program in which elite students learn from and with one another through a series of integrated, interdisciplinary seminars and extracurricular experiences, including common study abroad.
"I am greatly appreciative for the opportunity that Mr. Manning has presented me and the service he continues to provide to the University of Tennessee," Tipton said. "While the financial aid is a wonderful gift, it means all the more to me coming from one of the University's greatest student-athletes."
A speech communication major who was No. 1 in his 1997 graduating class, Manning is the career passing leader at Tennessee with 11,201 yards, a 62.5 completion percentage and 89 touchdown passes.
The Manning Scholarship is funded from gifts to the University garnered from Manning's academic awards, the UT Athletic Department's corporate matching grants program and other private gifts.
Manning's four-year career at UT (1994-97) produced a number of awards that generated $165,000 in scholarship funds. Among the awards were the Burger King-Vincent de Paul Draddy National Scholar Athlete of the Year, the Davey O'Brien Foundation Award and the American Honda Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The Manning Scholarship covers the costs of tuition, room and board. The award is granted to a first-year student on the basis of academic achievement, leadership and community service. Previous Winners of the Peyton Manning Scholarship
Elizabeth Tiller (2008)
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
American Christian Academy
Kara Leann Seat (2007)
Nashville
Christ Presbyterian Academy
Nora Sue Hutchison (2006)
Maynardville
Anderson County High School
Jessica Nicole Jarrell (2005)
Mohawk
West Greene High School
Michael Austen Clapp (2004)
Greensboro, N.C.
Ragsdale High School
Bradford A. Russell (2003)
Charlotte, N.C.
Myers Park High School
Rachel Lauren Matthews (2002)
Knoxville
Carter High School
Kimberly Anne Campbell (2001)
Union City
Union City High School
Hampton Andrew Holcomb, Jr. (2000)
Memphis
Evangelical Christian School
Rebekah Ann Capps (1999)
Nashville
Christ Presbyterian Academy
Jay Stephen Burns (1998)
Bulls Gap
Greeneville High School
