Dwyane Wade made history with Marquette. The first was in 2003 when he led the Golden Eagles to the Final Four. Since then, the alumnus has made it a point to contribute to the Marquette family. This is  He made an incredible contribution of $3 million to enhance literacy as well as the men’s basketball program for the University. After the Tragil Wade-Johnson Summer Reading Program, the 3x NBA champ has just added another chapter to his history.

DWade joined TODAY with Jenna & Friends! to host the show for an entire week. One of the biggest highlights of the show was the champ declaring the first Wade Scholar! For those who aren’t aware, apart from supporting the Tragil Wade-Johnson Summer Reading Program, the $3 million contribution also launched the new Wade Scholars to benefit students.

Through this program, each year, two students will receive full room and board scholarships on campus. And the first Marquette student to become a Wade Scholar is a psychology student Kennedi Luckett. She was invited to the show, where Wade broke the news to her on air. “I’m so happy for you. I’m so proud of you and pleasure to meet you as well,” Wade said. It was Kennedi’s wish to see Wade at least once. 

She is already part of the Urban Scholars program. While she loved and wanted to be at Marquette, Kennedi also didn’t want to burden her parents. “My parents are very keen on, like, they’ll pay whatever I want to do, but I don’t feel comfortable doing that, so next year I won’t be staying on campus. It just makes it a little harder. I don’t want to be in debt forever. That does create some sort of barrier there, but I’m still extremely blessed and extremely thankful to God,” Kennedi said. And this program became the savior.

This segment became extra special with Kaavia’s heartfelt message for her father. “Hi Daddy, I love you so much that you are my favorite friend ever I ever met and I also want to thank you a good luck. I love seeing you on TV and I love you so much,” Kaavia said in the clip shown.

As mentioned before, Wade’s gift to the university will serve other purposes as well.

Dwyane Wade teamed up with his former teammate for a noble cause

The former Miami Heat player also teamed up with his former Golden Eagles player to raise funds for the local youth literacy including Tragil Wade-Johnson Summer Reading Program. Every year, the two hold and participate in a three-day event full of activities. 

“It means a great deal to me and my family to be able to give back to take the university to the next level. My hope is to continue to transform lives through higher education,” the former NBA player said. 

Apart from the other two programs mentioned above, a portion of the contribution will also support the Athletic and Human Performance Research Center. This will include a basketball practice facility. In honor of his contribution, the men’s basketball practice facility court will be named the Dwyane Wade Court.

“From his playing days at Marquette to the way he leads today, Dwyane embodies our core values: relationships, growth, victory. Dwyane’s legacy and impact continue to expand. Our current players truly appreciate his strong connection and commitment to our program, and our future student-athletes will be inspired to train on the court that will honor his name,” Head Coach Shaka Smart said. DWade’s efforts for the Marquette community have helped inspire many to join.