ESPN Commentator Stephen A. Smith giving $250,000 donation to WSSU over 5 years

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WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Stephen A. Smith doesn’t mind putting his money where his mouth is when making a point on his ESPN show “First Take.”

Smith also made a point Saturday morning at a Winston-Salem State fund-raising breakfast by committing $50,000 toward his alma mater for each of the next five years.

“It’s the right thing to do,” said Smith, a 1991 graduate and former sportswriter who started at the Winston-Salem Journal as a part-time clerk when he was in college.

WSSU officials said the breakfast raised $33,000. This was the first year the fundraiser was held.

Smith said he’s proud of being a product of a historically black college, but he also said the institutions need help.

“A lot of HBCUs are hurting financially, but I’m here to tell you they are needed in a big way,” Smith said.

Smith, a member of the Big House Gaines Hall of Fame at WSSU for his service to the university, attended WSSU on a basketball scholarship but injuries limited his time on the court.

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