April 16, 2009

South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier and former NFL All-Pro receiver Sterling Sharpe will represent the Gamecocks and compete for a share of the $350,000 scholarship purse in the annual Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge golf tournament.

The nation’s premier head coach and celebrity golf event will be held at the beautiful Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee outside Atlanta April 28.

As defending champions, Spurrier and Sharpe will try to defend their title against an impressive list of top NCAA head coaches and celebrities. In all, 11 teams are scheduled to hit the links, all vying for the $120,000 first-place scholarship prize the duo from USC won at last year’s event.

“Don’t expect this to be a nice way for the coaches to unwind after spring practice,” said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO. “These guys are very competitive and we fully expect that spirit to carry over to the golf course. We’re looking for a great event with some low scores and a lot of money heading back to these schools for scholarship.”

The current field of competitors includes:

TEAM: COACH: CELEBRITY:

Alabama Nick Saban Johnny Musso

Georgia Tech Paul Johnson Jon Barry

Kentucky Rich Brooks Jared Lorenzen

Maryland Ralph Friedgen Neil O’Donnell

Minnesota Tubby Smith Jim Petersen

Mississippi Houston Nutt Kris Mangum

N.C. State Sidney Lowe Monte Towe

South Carolina Steve Spurrier Sterling Sharpe

Vanderbilt Bobby Johnson Will Perdue

Virginia Tech Frank Beamer Dell Curry

Wake Forest Jim Grobe Billy Packer

Additional teams may be added prior to the event.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge features pairings that include a university head coach and a celebrity or former athlete from the same school competing in a scramble format against other university teams from around the country.

In addition to the $350,000 scholarship purse, another $130,000 of the proceeds will be donated to selected charities. The Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge is a significant contributor to the Chick-fil-A Bowl’s overall charitable and scholarship donations. The Chick-fil-A Bowl leads all bowls in the country in charitable giving, including record gifts of more than $1.2 million in 2008 alone.

For more information on the event, visit www.Chick-fil-ABowlChallenge.com.

About the Chick-fil-A Bowl

The Chick-fil-A Bowl is the ninth-oldest bowl game in the country and hosts the longest-running rivalry series between the ACC and SEC. Now in its 42nd year, the Chick-fil-A Bowl has established itself as one of the nation’s elite bowl games with a string of 12 consecutive sellouts and has earned a reputation as one of the most competitive bowls in the nation. Ten of the last 17 games have been decided by a touchdown or less. The Chick-fil-A Bowl has disbursed more than $90 million in team payouts over its 41-year history and has increased team payout every year since 1996. The Bowl also leads all other bowl games in charitable and scholarship contributions, giving more than $1.2 million to organizations in need in 2008 alone. Other events under the Chick-fil-A Bowl brand include the Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge head coach and celebrity golf event each April and the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff season-opening game over Labor Day weekend which will host two preseason top-10 teams, Alabama and Virginia Tech, to open the 2009 season Sept. 5.