College Football Players Pay Staff Member's Rent

March 14, 2020

Members of the University of New Mexico football team set aside a portion of their scholarship money to help support someone who supports them.

UNM sports

Andrea Pierson is a Student Eligibility Specialist. Her job is helping student athletes make grades and navigate NCAA rules.

Therefore she is very involved with each player on the team.

"She helps us with everything," said football player Daevon Vigilant. "Like she really is like a second mom."

"Our academic support staff deserve 100 times more than what they have right now," said football player Teton Saltes.

Things have not been easy for Pierson, lately. Over the last year, two members of the team took their own lives.

"She was very close with them, and so it really impacted, not just them, but every sports team here, and Andrea in particular," Saltes said. "It's been hard."

The players wanted to do something nice for Pierson, to thank her for the impact she makes on the team.

"So we contacted her landlord, and you know, a whole bunch of guys from the team got together and we all pitched money from our own scholarship checks to pay her rent for a month, and then some," Saltes said.

They surprised her with the money and a thank-you card at a recent softball game.

"And then I realized and, I just, instantly was tears," Pierson recalled.

"They're doing awesome things," she said. "They're doing great things. They're doing selfless things."

Watch the video below.