Donation to benefit GAP Scholarship fund

 

Grambling, La. – January 11, 2024 – Buffalo Bills assistant head coach/defensive line coach Eric Washington is all about producing positive results.

 

Whether it’s showing his love for his team on a football field or the love of his college alma mater — Grambling State University — Washington is all about giving back.

 

That’s shown on the gridiron as Washington, who was promoted to assistant head coach at Buffalo last summer, has helped his team to a No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs as his team prepares to play host to the seventh-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

 

And it’s shown in Washington’s loyal generosity to GSU. After making a $30,000 donation to the university’s GAP Scholarship Fund last March, Washington again showed his devotion to Grambling State last month with a gift of $51,500.

 

A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, and graduate of Northwood High School, Washington attended Morehouse College, where he was a member of the football team as a freshman before transferring to GSU and playing tight end for Coach Eddie Robinson’s Tigers in the late 1980s —  early ’90s.

 

 

Like many football coaches who crunch numbers in an attempt to make their teams better, Washington, along with his wife Amy, who has joined her husband in becoming a loyal GSU supporter, has taken a similar approach to his recent donation to Grambling State.

 

His $51,500 donation will be directed toward two of the areas he feels still need the most financial attention at the university — $15,000 will go to the school’s GAP Scholarship fund while $36,500 will go toward GSU’s(delete) improving salaries and positions for GSU’s baseball coaching staff.

 

GAP scholarships are established through Grambling University Foundation funding and the generosity of donors and are designed to help students who have exhausted all student loan and financial aid options, and to essentially help students fill the gap needed to continue with their education.

 

Washington’s views toward donating to his alma mater falls perfectly in line with his football coaching philosophy and was shown during a Bills press conference on Monday when he talked about the need for everyone to step up and contribute toward a winning goal.

 

“We’re going to need everyone involved,” Washington said during a press conference held on Monday. “It’s a delicate blend and we just have to make sure that whatever we’re doing, it’s for the best of the team.”

 

The end result for that thinking showed in the Bills’ defensive efforts in a 21-14 win over the Miami Dolphins that allowed Buffalo to clinch the AFC’s No. 2 playoff seed.

 

Heading into the game the Dolphins were averaging 409.2 yards of offense per game
—  137.5 rushing yards and 271.1 passing yards — along with 30.1 points per game.

 

But on Sunday night the Bills held the Dolphins to 275 yards — 108 rushing yards and 167 passing yards —  along with the aforementioned 14 points.

 

That “everyone involved” coaching philosophy ties in perfectly with Washington’s feelings about giving back to Grambling — doing what’s best for the whole is what is most important for any kind of team.

 

“In my opinion, Reinvesting or ‘giving back’ is not assessed against a monetary value,” Washington said after making his initial donation to GSU in March of 2023. “In addition to providing financial support, my desire is to illuminate the responsibility to all who claim Grambling as his/her own — especially those of us who attended Grambling and profited from our experiences.  Do what you can with what you have … and be led by the spirit of great intentions.”