Football. Flozell Adams Provides Leadership Gift For Stadium Project

April 26, 2014

EAST LANSING, Mich. - A leadership gift from former Michigan State All-America offensive tackle, Flozell Adams, brings the fundraising efforts for Spartan Stadium's North End Zone Expansion Project to over $20 million. The two-story, 50,000-square-foot structure features new locker rooms, training room, media center and recruiting lounge. The $24 million addition is scheduled for completion in July 2014.

Adams' $1.5 million gift is among the largest donations Michigan State Athletics has received from a former student-athlete, and it will enhance the home locker room area. Pending Board of Trustee final approval, the home locker room in Spartan Stadium will be named for Flozell's late mother, Rachel Adams.

"The primary reason I made the financial commitment is because there's a real need for the new facility," Adams said. "The reality is that the locker room has changed very little over the last 30 years, so it's time for a major makeover."

Before she passed away in 1996, Rachel Adams would wait for her son in the tunnel outside the Spartan locker room to greet him after his games. She was proud of Flozell's athletic accomplishments as well as his academic success. Adams recently launched The Fairman-Adams Project, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to aid those diagnosed with breast cancer. Adams lost his mother to breast cancer and in addition to his gift to MSU, he will pay tribute to her legacy through the work of his foundation.

"My mother was my rock. I could talk to her about anything and everything. We spoke on Fridays before every game, and I looked forward to her hugs after every home game. This donation and naming opportunity is the appropriate way to thank her and pay tribute to her. She was certainly a difference-maker in my life, and she loved Spartan football Saturdays."

A four-year letterman and three-year starter while at Michigan State, Adams earned Walter Camp First-Team All-America and Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year honors as a senior in 1997. A first-team All-Big Ten pick by both the coaches and media as a senior, he started all 12 games at left tackle and helped the Spartans rank No. 24 nationally in rushing offense.

Adams was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round (No. 38 overall) of the 1998 National Football League Draft and became a five-time Pro Bowl selection (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008). He spent 13 years in the NFL, including 12 seasons in Dallas (1998-2009) and one year with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2010). In 2009, Adams was ranked among the Cowboys' Top 50 all-time players (No. 43). He played for the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010 and started in Super Bowl XLV against Green Bay.

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Football. Flozell Adams Provides Leadership Gift For Stadium Project