The National Football Foundation and Ole Miss Athletics jointly honored Ron Rychlak, the Ole Miss Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR), with a celebratory NFF Faculty Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, March 27 during a special reception in the Starnes Athletics Training Center at Hollingsworth-Manning Hall.

The event included remarks from Rychlak, Ole Miss Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Keith Carter, NFF COO Matthew Sign and Fidelity SVP for Client Consulting Joe Ciccariello.

"Ron is an incredible resource for our university, and this honor is well deserved," said Carter. "He is a trusted advisor for myself and our department, but moreover, he is a huge advocate for out student-athletes and invaluable to their success. I am fortunate to not only call Ron a colleague but also a friend."

Rychlak, a law school faculty member since 1987, is the Distinguished University Professor and Jamie L. Whitten Chair in Law and Government. He served 13 years as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and has been the university's Faculty Athletic Representative since 2007. He was honored for his key role in strengthening the connection between academics and athletics at Ole Miss during the past 18 years.

In November, the NFF announced Rychlak would be honored as part of the 2024 NFF Faculty Salutes Presented by Fidelity Investments®, which highlights the significant contributions of faculty athletics representatives across the nation. As part of the initiative, each school with a member of the 2024 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments® receives recognition for their faculty athletics representative, and a $5,000 donation per school (a total of $80,000 this year) from Fidelity is made to support the academic support services for student-athletes at the schools.

Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart, who carried a 3.71 GPA as a business major, was a member of this year's NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. He became the ninth Ole Miss player to earn the honor, joining Stephen Hindman (1968), Norris Weese (1973), Richard Lawrence (1975), Kent Austin (1985), Jeffrey Noblin (1986), Daniel Hoskins (1987), Wesley Walls (1988), and Eli Manning (2003).

Launched in 2011 by the NFF and Fidelity Investments, the NFF Faculty Salutes are an extension of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Program that provides postgraduate scholarships for college football's elite student-athletes. Fidelity, the presenting sponsor of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, has taken on a leadership role with the NFF Faculty Salutes as a natural extension of its ongoing support of the scholar-athlete ideal and commitment to higher education nationwide. Including this year's honorees, the salutes have recognized 198 FARs since the program's inception, and Fidelity has made a total of $990,000 in donations.