Celebrities in advertising are as common as Gainesville pool parties during the summer.
Michael Jordan taught us to wear his shoes and drink his favorite Gatorade flavor, and he knew we would eat McDonald's if he told us Big Macs could give us his power of flight.
Tiger Woods tells us to do pretty much all these things, too, while Doug Flutie only shoves his Flakes in our faces.
Now, UF's two biggest celebrities are lending their clout to an organization - and it's not a local restaurant or jeweler.
Men's basketball coach Billy Donovan and head football coach Urban Meyer are putting their faces on UF's Florida Opportunity Scholars Program. The goal of Florida Opportunity Scholars, which was started in 2006 by UF President Bernie Machen, is to financially assist students who have been admitted to UF and come from families with low gross income. The award is only given to students whose parents do not hold bachelor's degrees.
We are proud to see Billy the Kid and the New Head Ball Coach putting their efforts toward such a noble cause; it beats the hell out of corporate sponsorships. We love their dedication to their respective sports - and we try to mimic it - but this kind of campus involvement transcends the value of any crystal trophy.
These two have brought three national championships to UF, and now they're helping to raise $50 million for a scholarship fund.
If we knew where to find them, we would buy Flutie Flakes because they're for a good cause, but Tiger's Gatorade campaign and Michael's underwear efforts will have to take a backseat to Billy and Urban's focus on higher education.
