Middle and high school students across Tennessee are getting an early Christmas gift from Tennessee State Treasurer David H. Lillard Jr.
Treasurer Lillard is distributing computer discs with copies of the ‘Financial Football’ game to public school districts across the state. The interactive video game, developed by Visa Inc. and promoted by the National Football League and the Tennessee Jump$tart Coalition, provides a fun way for students to test their knowledge of budget planning, saving, spending and investing concepts.
Financial Football players attempt to answer multiple choice questions, with the answers determining whether they gain more or less yardage as they attempt to march down a football field and score against the opposing team.
Treasurer Lillard recently teamed up with Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker to promote the game’s introduction in Tennessee. As part of the launch event, Treasurer Lillard and Locker squared off as opposing coaches for two teams of Overton High School students who played the game. The winner of that game is a closely-held secret.
Treasurer Lillard is joining other state treasurers across the United States to promote the game, which dovetails with his department’s mission of increasing financial literacy among Tennesseans.
“The Financial Football game is an innovative way to teach young people about the importance of learning basic money-handling concepts that will serve them well throughout their lives,” Treasurer Lillard said. “I applaud Visa and the National Football League for promoting this product. I especially want to thank Jake Locker for helping us to introduce the game here in Tennessee. And in case anyone is wondering, there will be no rematch between the two of us in Financial Football.”
The games are being distributed to schools along with letters from Treasurer Lillard describing Financial Football’s educational benefits.
