The University of Utah Department of Athletics has established the Ty Jordan Memorial Scholarship to honor the memory of former football student-athlete Ty Jordan, Athletics Director Mark Harlan announced on Jan. 5, 2021. Jordan, a freshman from Mesquite, Texas, tragically lost his life on Dec. 25, 2020, less than a week after concluding a memorable freshman season for the Utah Utes.
Jordan made a significant impact on the Utah Football program in his short time in Salt Lake City. The Ty Jordan Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to a student-athlete in the football program who exemplifies the inspiring qualities that Jordan displayed through his work ethic, positivity and perseverance through adversity. Shortly after Jordan’s arrival in Salt Lake City, his mother Tiffany passed away after a long battle with cancer in August of 2020.
The first gift to the fund is being made by Utah Football Head Coach Kyle Whittingham and his wife Jamie, in the amount of $100,000. Those wishing to donate to the Ty Jordan Memorial Scholarship may do so through a secure online portal accessible at this link.
In just a five-game debut season that began in November, Jordan quickly asserted himself and went on to earn the Pac-12’s Offensive Freshman of the Year award by vote of the league’s coaches and was named Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year by the Associated Press. He also was named a Freshman All-American by The Athletic and 247Sports. Jordan averaged 119.4 rushing yards per game—No. 1 among the nation’s freshmen and ninth among all FBS players—and averaged 7.2 yards per carry, en route to 597 net rushing yards. He scored six rushing touchdowns, all of which came in his final three games, and amassed rushing totals of 147, 167 and 154 yards in those three Utah wins. He was named the Pac-12’s Freshman Offensive Player of the Week three times in a row for those performances.
Through it all, Jordan remained humble when speaking publicly, deferring credit to his teammates and coaches and frequently expressing his desire to make his mother proud in the way he was fulfilling his dream to play college sports. The significant impact that Ty Jordan made both on and off the field in his short time at the University of Utah will now be commemorated through the Ty Jordan Memorial Scholarship in the Utah Football program.