Madelyn Coble is on her way to an impressive array of undergraduate degrees in neuroscience, Hispanic linguistics and chemistry at the University of North Carolina. For the New Bern, North Carolina, product, pharmacy school and a goal of conducting research for veterans with PTSD are probably next.
It’s a cause that is motivated by her veteran father, Marine Major Christopher Coble, professional quarterback Drake Maye and his late maternal grandfather, Ed Sockwell, a Navy veteran.
Coble stands closer to her career aspirations thanks to the Drake Maye-Betterment scholarship this year via the Folds of Honor scholarship initiative. Maye, a former UNC quarterback and Super Bowl quarterback for the New England Patriots, has funded 14 Folds of Honor college scholarships — two in each New England state and two in Chapel Hill, North Carolina — to support families of fallen or disabled military and first responders over the first two years of his NFL career. Maye is an ambassador for Betterment, a financial advisory company.
Maye, in his second NFL season, and the Patriots will face Seattle on Sunday night in Super Bowl LX. New England is seeking its seventh title; Seattle its second.
“I was really excited that you provide funds for people like me and other Tar Heels at UNC,” said Coble in a video message to Maye. “It goes to show that our families are seen and feel supported during difficult times we experience in order to serve this country.”
Major Coble, disabled and now employed privately in eastern North Carolina, was a 22-year Marine veteran with deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan and a pursuit of higher education during his military career.
That attribute has also been carried forward by Maye. His grandfather was a Navy veteran who became one of the organizers of high-level AAU basketball in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the Maye family resided and produced a foursome of very athletic sons, led by Drake and oldest sibling Luke, who led the Tar Heels to the 2017 NCAA basketball title. Sockwell teamed with other basketball-savvy adults to form the Charlotte Sonics, an AAU powerhouse in the 1990s led by former NBA player Jerry Stackhouse and current Pittsburgh coach Jeff Capel, with an academic focus. Sockwell died at age 65 in 2006 but attained degrees from Cornell and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania before running his own executive search firm.
“Drake did this very quietly when he was just starting; one of the first things he did when he came into the NFL,” said Sara Bush, senior director, Golf Relations, for the Folds of Honor. “That’s how much it meant to him.”
This athletically sourced cause is making quite the difference in academic circles across New England with Caitlin Haggett at Northern Vermont; Colvin Hamm at Eastern Maine Community College; Ryan Bowe at Rhode Island College; Jared Mitchell at Middle Tennessee; Hailey DeNucci at Southern Connecticut State; and Adam Laber at Salve Regina alongside Coble at North Carolina.
The Folds of Honor Boston is taking a page from its national organization, whose roots in 2007 go back to golf. The organization was founded by Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, the only F-16 fighter pilot (with three combat tours in Iraq) and PGA Professional. Folds of Honor has awarded over 52,000 scholarships totaling about $244 million in all 50 states.
Folds of Honor Boston has made great strides with Maye and golf. Patrick Cantlay awarded three scholarships through the organization via his 2025 Ryder Cup participation. PGA Tour player Nick Dunlap has also worked through Folds of Honor to provide scholarships to the University of Alabama. Rachel Heck, a former Stanford star and now a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve, also provides scholarships through the Folds of Honor.
Folds of Honor also partnered recently with the PGA Tour to start Folds of Honor Friday, where the national anthem is played before the start of play at select PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions and Korn Ferry Tour events. Local color guards, musicians and singers are brought in to sing the song which normally is played at team events but has not been used as often at professional golf events because of the widespread nature of play throughout a day.
“Fans coming on site get a new experience,” Bush says. “We ask fans to come dressed in patriotic gear. Sometimes there are 30 people and sometimes there are 300 when this happens 15 minutes before the first tee time. It’s quite the start to the day.”
