By Roy S. Johnson
In the NBA, Charles Barkley never shied from the moment, whether taking a late-game shot or securing a vital rebound.
In May, the Hall of Famer donated $1 million to women’s athletics at Auburn. Now, with WNBA stars like A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, and Angel Reese and college programs such as South Carolina and Louisiana State igniting a historic interest in women’s basketball, he’s donating $1 million specifically to the improving Tigers women’s basketball program at his alma mater.
“Women’s basketball is in the spotlight,” Barkley told AL.com. “[Head coach] Johnnie Harris has started something there. She’s trying like hell to get the program turned around. I want to make sure Auburn’s women are not left in the dark.”
Last season, in their third season under Harris, the Tigers went 20-12 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years. They were eliminated in the play-in game of the NCAA Tournament by Arizona, 69-59.
In FY2023 expenses for Auburn women’s was $5.2 million, according to the NCAA financial report.
Barkley also said he’s donating $1 million to the Alabama Community College System (ACCS), towards its efforts to lower the state’s recidivism rate. The system, comprising 24 colleges throughout the state, is part of Reentry Alabama, a consortium under the auspices of the Alabama Commission on Reentry that aims to cut the state’s recidivism rate in half by 2030.
One of the colleges, J.F. Ingram State Technical College, is the state’s sole correctional education provider with an emphasis on job training.
Beyond the donation, Barkley says he’ll partner with the system. “I’m going to put my time and effort behind this,” he says. “They’re doing some really cool stuff with getting brothers jobs once they leave prison. Some very impressive Black people have turned their lives around working with us.”
Barkley previously donated $1 million each to ALS research in Alabama in the name of former Auburn teammate Gary Godfrey, who was diagnosed with the disease in January 2019; Auburn; the Wounded Warrior Project; and several Historically Black Colleges and Universities(HBCUs) including Spellman, Tuskegee, Miles College, Morehouse, Alabama A&M, Clark Atlanta, Bethune-Cookman, and Jackson State.
Last June, Barkley said he was changing his will, redesignating the $5 million he will leave to Auburn to be used for scholarships for low-income Black students.
