'Guard Thee Yard': Tractor trailer donation allows Jackson State to carry football gear in style
It started out 14 years ago as a way for KLLM Transport Services' owners, along with president and CEO James Richards, to give back to Southern Mississippi, their alma mater.
The company, which is the second-largest temperature-controlled truckload carrier in the United States, donated a new tractor trailer to the Golden Eagles to haul their football gear to away games. Since then, it has turned its labor of love into benefiting the state's four largest universities: Southern Miss (2009); Mississippi State (starting in 2019);
Ole Miss (2018) and
Jackson State (2021).
When Deion Sanders became coach at Jackson State in 2020, he reached out to former governor Phil Bryant, who in turn talked to Richards. On July 27, for the second year in a row, KLLM gifted Jackson State a $250,000 Peterbilt tractor trailer.
“This is a 100% donation to Jackson State,” Richards said. “The university does not pay for anything, they don’t owe anything. We buy them a brand new tractor every year.
“We take care of everything. Gas, insurance, maintenance, and we provide a driver. All the schools have to do is tell us when and what time to show up.”