Prichard Prep Tailgate Dinner Brings Broadcast Stars to Mobile

MOBILE, Ala. — College football talk filled a downtown ballroom Tuesday night, Nov. 10, but the real winners were young students across town. The ninth annual Prichard Prep Tailgate Dinner, formally known as the Passion for Prichard Prep Tailgate Dinner, brought national broadcast voices to the Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel & Spa to raise money for Prichard Preparatory School.

Organizers set a goal of $80,000 for this year’s event, with proceeds supporting the school’s Academic Bridge Program, which helps families afford a college-preparatory education for their children.

A Panel Built Like a Pregame Show

The evening was styled after a television pregame broadcast, with a panel of well-known personalities trading football opinions, predictions and good-natured rivalry jabs in front of guests.

Headlining the lineup were Alyssa Lang, a national sports host and reporter, and Taylor Zarzour, a college football play-by-play announcer with deep roots in Mobile. They were joined by:

• Chris Stewart, the play-by-play announcer for the University of Alabama, widely known as the Voice of the Crimson Tide
• Jeris McIntyre, a former Auburn and NFL wide receiver who now serves as Auburn University’s director of football and alumni relations
• Drew Fabianich, executive director of the Senior Bowl

With voices from both sides of the state’s fiercest rivalry on the same stage, the panel offered attendees plenty of friendly back-and-forth, all in service of a shared local cause.

A Homecoming for Taylor Zarzour

For Zarzour, the night was a return to familiar ground. He grew up in the Port City and attended St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Mobile, where he has been inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame. His presence gave the event a hometown connection alongside its national star power.

The Senior Bowl connection also gave the dinner a distinctly Mobile flavor. The Reese’s Senior Bowl, played in Mobile each winter, is one of the nation’s best-known college all-star games and a major showcase for NFL prospects.

What the Prichard Prep Tailgate Dinner Supports

Behind the football conversation was a clear purpose. Prichard Preparatory School serves children from pre-K through fifth grade, with a mission of preparing young scholars for success in the classrooms ahead of them.

Money raised at the dinner goes to the school’s Academic Bridge Program, which helps close the gap between what a college-preparatory education costs and what families are able to pay. By lowering that barrier, the program aims to open the door to a rigorous early education for students who might otherwise not have access to it.

Early grades are widely viewed by educators as a critical window for building reading, math and study skills, which is why support for elementary programs can have an outsized effect on a child’s later academic path.

Football and Philanthropy on the Gulf Coast

The tailgate format is a natural fit for the region. College football runs deep along the Gulf Coast, where Saturday loyalties often split families, offices and neighborhoods between crimson and orange. Turning that passion into a fundraiser lets supporters enjoy the sport they love while investing in the next generation.

Now in its ninth year, the event has become a recurring fixture on the local fundraising calendar, pairing recognizable names with a cause close to home.

How to Learn More

Families and supporters interested in Prichard Preparatory School or its Academic Bridge Program can contact the school directly for information about enrollment and giving opportunities.

Find more stories about local schools in our education coverage, and keep up with the community in the latest Prichard news on South Alabama News.