ATLANTA — Mark Teixeira is doling out some of the money from his big contract with the New York Yankees, committing $500,000 to fund an annual baseball scholarship at Georgia Tech, his alma mater.

The first baseman announced the Mark C. Teixeira Athletic Scholarship Fund on Wednesday.

"Georgia Tech has always been a special place for me, and I have always welcomed the opportunity to help out the baseball program in any way possible," said Teixeira, who was the national college player of the year in 2000. "I was very blessed to receive a scholarship."

Teixeira signed a $180 million, eight-year contract with the Yankees during the offseason. He also has played for Texas, Atlanta and the Los Angeles Angels.

During his three-year career at Georgia Tech, Teixeira earned a long list of honors while batting .409 with 36 homers and 165 RBIs. He was picked No. 5 overall by the Rangers in the 2001 amateur draft.

"Mark has always been a guy that has donated money to the program, and has done so since the day he signed," Georgia Tech coach Danny Hall said. "The fact that he is going to endow a scholarship in his name for Georgia Tech baseball just shows the level of commitment and pride that he takes, not only in our program, but in Georgia Tech."