University of Louisville athletics will get a financial boost toward completing construction of a student-athlete academic center.Thorntons, the Louisville-based gas and convenience chain, will provide a $3-million matching grant to the project, according to a university news release. Thorntons will match every dollar donated to the construction of the academic center up to $3 million—with hopes of raising, in total, the $6 million remaining to complete the fund-raising.The total cost of the project is $14 million, according to the release.What will be called the Thorntons Academic Center of Excellence will serve about 750 student athletes from all of the UofL's 23 sports. The center will offer tutoring rooms, learning labs, classrooms and group study areas. The center will be located on the north side of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.“Thorntons has long been a terrific corporate partner to our university and this community,” UofL athletics director Tom Jurich said in the news release.
