April 16, 2010

Six national Coaches of the Year including Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, Frank Beamer, Paul Johnson, Jim Grobe, Ralph Friedgen and others will team up with former professional and collegiate athletes to compete for $400,000 in scholarship money at the annual Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge charity golf tournament April 27.

The nation’s premier head coach and celebrity golf event will be held at the beautiful Reynolds Plantation resort on Lake Oconee outside Atlanta. Over the past three years, the Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge has provided more than $1.3 million in scholarship and charity to its participating universities.

Over the three-day event, several tournament rounds will be played. The complete field of former athletes and celebrities includes four Heisman Trophy winners, 10 members of the College Football Hall of Fame, 20 All-Americans, six Coach of the Year winners, four NFL Hall of Famers and players totaling 51 NFL All-Pro or Pro Bowl selections.

Two-time defending champions Steve Spurrier and Sterling Sharpe from the University of South Carolina will lead an impressive list of top NCAA head coaches and celebrities. In all, 12 teams are scheduled to hit the links in the featured event, all vying for the $120,000 first-place scholarship prize.

“From a golf standpoint, this might be the strongest field we’ve ever had in this tournament,” said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO. “Not only are they highly competitive on the football field, but they are ultra competitive when competing for this championship – especially with our largest scholarship purse yet on the line.”

The current field of competitors for the featured event includes:

TEAM: COACH: CELEBRITY:

Alabama Nick Saban Steve Sloan

Clemson Dabo Swinney Dwight Clark

Florida State Jimbo Fisher Terrell Buckley

Georgia Tech Paul Johnson Jon Barry

Maryland Ralph Friedgen Stan Gelbaugh

Mississippi Houston Nutt Wesley Walls

North Carolina Butch Davis Natrone Means

N.C. State Tom O’Brien Sidney Lowe

South Carolina Steve Spurrier Sterling Sharpe

Vanderbilt Bobby Johnson Will Perdue

Virginia Tech Frank Beamer Dell Curry

Wake Forest Jim Grobe Billy Packer

The Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge main event 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.

Past winners: 2009 South Carolina (Spurrier/Sharpe / -12, playoff winners), 2008 South Carolina (Spurrier/Sharpe / -12), 2007 Virginia Tech (Beamer/Curry / -10).

In addition to the $400,000 scholarship purse, additional proceeds will be donated to selected charities including Chick-fil-A’s WinShape Homes. 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 gifts of more than $5.8 million since 2002.

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