Roy Lee “Chucky” Mullins, a redshirt freshman defensive back for the Ole Miss football team, suffered a tragic injury in the homecoming game against Vanderbilt on October 28, 1989, that left him paralyzed. His battle with physical disability and his undefeated spirit changed the University of Mississippi and touched a nation. More than a million dollars was raised for the Chucky Mullins Trust Fund, and he was visited by Walter Payton, Janet Jackson, and President George Bush. In August 1990, he returned to Oxford in a specially equipped house to renew his pursuit of a degree. On May 1, 1991, as he prepared for class, he suddenly stopped breathing, and he died five days later from complications resulting from a blood clot. In the spring of 1990, the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity at Ole Miss initiated the Chucky Mullins Courage Award, given each spring to an outstanding defensive player chosen by the Rebel coaching staff, and the recipient wears Mullins' No. 38 jersey number the following season.