Whenever Tulane’s run in the College Football Playoff comes to an end, so too will Jon Sumrall’s time at the school, with the second-year Green Wave coach headed to Florida.
Before he departs, though, he’ll be leaving something behind for his soon-to-be-former employer.
Sumrall and his wife, Ginny, are making a $100,000 donation to the Green Wave Talent Fund, a university initiative to expand NIL opportunities for Tulane athletes, the school announced on Monday, Dec. 15.
In two seasons with the Green Wave, Sumrall went 20-7, including an 11-2 mark this year that helped them win the American Conference and earn a spot in the playoff, where they’ll take on Ole Miss in the first round on Saturday, Dec. 20.
Though he was hired away by Florida late last month, he’ll be coaching Tulane throughout the playoff. That transition has been aided by the Green Wave hiring one of Sumrall’s assistants, pass game coordinator Will Hall, as his successor.
‘Tulane University and New Orleans are special to me and my family,’ Sumrall said in a statement. ‘Ginny and I are honored to support the Green Wave Talent Fund because we believe in the vision of Tulane Athletics and want to contribute to the continued success of its student-athletes. The future is incredibly bright, and we are excited for Will Hall and his family to be part of it.
‘Coach Hall possesses a keen understanding of Tulane University and its football program, along with a passion that greatly benefits the Green Wave. As a leader, he cares deeply about helping others reach their full potential and is dedicated to equipping them to achieve that goal in every way possible. He has our family’s full support, and we wish him nothing but success as he leads Tulane Football!’
The money could be useful for Tulane, which has excelled under Sumrall despite losing talented players to bigger programs with more NIL resources. After the 2024 season, the Green Wave lost starting quarterback Darian Mensah and leading rusher Makhi Hughes to Duke and Oregon, respectively, with Mensah signing a deal worth a reported $8 million.
Since accepting the position at Florida, Sumrall has joked about balancing two FBS head-coaching jobs at once. His profile photo on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is a picture of him in half Florida attire and half Tulane attire. In a post last week, he wrote that “I’ve got 2 Phones, 2 Jobs & 2 hours of sleep.”
In four years as a head coach, Sumrall is 43-11. Prior to Tulane, he spent two years at Troy, where he went 23-4 and won a pair of Sun Belt championships. At Florida, he’ll take over a struggling program that has finished with a losing record in four of the past five seasons.