Storrs - The UConn athletic department announced Tuesday that fundraising for a memorial statue in honor of Jasper Howard has been completed, thanks in part to a donation by former coach Randy Edsall.

Edsall, who is now the head coach at Maryland, provided the lead gift for the statue that will honor Howard, who was stabbed to death following a homecoming dance on campus on Oct. 18, 2009, only hours after Howard had a career-high 11 tackles and a fumble recovery in helping the Huskies defeat Louisville at Rentschler Field.

The statue, which will be placed in the concourse below the main scoreboard at Rentschler Field and be visible from virtually any seat in the stadium, will be dedicated during halftime of UConn's homecoming game against Central Florida on Saturday, Nov. 1.

The fundraising effort was spearheaded by UConn supporters Dan and Lisa Lowry of Prospect. The school was seeking approximately $30,000 for the statue and also received donations from Howard's former teammates and fans.

"I want to thank everyone in the UConn family who made this memorial to the life of Jasper a reality," UConn athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement released by the university. "I especially want to recognize our friends Dan and Lisa Lowry, who came up with the concept for the memorial and worked tirelessly to raise the funds that will make it possible.

"In addition, we are very grateful to Randy Edsall and his family for their generosity towards this project."

Edsall, who will be unable to attend the dedication because Maryland has a game at Penn State that day, said in a statement also released by UConn, "Jasper Howard represented everything that is good about college athletics. He loved being a student-athlete at UConn. His tragic death had a bonding reaction with the entire UConn community that none of us will ever forget for the rest of our lives."

UConn officials also said that funds will continued to be raised for the Jasper T. Howard Endowed Scholarship Fund at UConn, which is presented annually to a cornerback on the Husky football team who best embodies the qualities of Howard. For information on how to contribute to that fund visit http://s.uconn.edu/howardscholarship.