Joe Burrow's High School Football Stadium to be Named After Him

After recognizing his Ohio hometown in his Heisman Trophy acceptance speech, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow will have his high school football stadium named after him.

The Athens City School District announced on Thursday that it plans to rename Athens High School's stadium to the Joe Burrow Stadium.

"The Athens City School District Board of Education hereby recognizes and congratulates Athens High School Class of 2015 graduate Joe Burrow for his most recent accomplishment in winning college football's highest honor, the Heisman Trophy," the school district said in a Facebook post.

"In recognition of Mr. Burrow's accomplishments, the Athens City School District Board of Education does hereby direct the Superintendent and the Athens High School Administration to take such actions as are necessary to name the Athens High School Football Stadium the Joe Burrow Stadium and to work with the Athens High School Booster Club and the Athens High School Bulldog Blitz to plan a ceremony to celebrate this honor."

Burrow graduated from Athens High School in 2015 and was named Ohio Mr. Football following the 2014-15 season. He was also voted the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year in both 2013-14 and 2014-15. 

Burrow spent his first three collegiate seasons at Ohio State but saw little playing time. He transferred to LSU before the 2018 season and led the Tigers to a 10–3 record.

This season, LSU has gone 13–0 and is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation. The Tigers will face No. 4 Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff semifinals on Dec. 28. Burrow has put up 4,715 yards with 48 touchdowns and six interceptions. He went from being considered an average Joe to a potential No. 1 NFL draft pick during his standout final season at LSU.

Burrow won the Heisman Trophy last weekend after receiving 90.7% of the first-place votes. While accepting the award, he talked about his hometown.

"Coming from southeast Ohio, it's a very impoverished area and the poverty rate is almost two times the national average," Burrow said. "There's so many people there that don't have a lot, and I'm up here for all those kids in Athens and Athens County that go home to not a lot of food on the table, hungry after school. You guys can be up here, too."

The speech inspired a fundraising campaign for the Athens County Food Pantry that has raised over $460,000.