Auburn has unveiled a public speaking award to help ensure that the legacy of former tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen lives on.
The university has begun the Philip Lutzenkirchen Excellence in Public Speaking Award in honor of the late Tigers player, the school announced.
The award, endowed by the W. James Samford Jr. Foundation in Opelika, Ala., will support a public speaking competition in Auburn’s school of communication and journalism.
Lutzenkirchen, who helped the Tigers win their national championship in 2010 and appeared in training camp with the St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams, died at age 23 in a single-vehicle car accident on June 29, 2014, near LaGrange, Ga.