Dec. 17, 2008
Greensboro, Ga. – Thirteen top NCAA head coaches including Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson will team up with celebrity alumni and hit the links to battle for $350,000 in scholarship money in the Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater at Reynolds Plantation Christmas Day. Fans across the country can tune in to see how their favorite university team fares in the tournament Dec. 25 at 2:30 p.m. (ET) on CBS.
Johnson’s teammate for the event is former Tech basketball stand-out and current ABC and ESPN NBA analyst.
Top CBS Sports personalities Bill Macatee and Bill Raftery make up the broadcast team that will call the action.
“This is one of those unique and wonderful events where the personalities of the coaches and celebrities really come out,” said Bill Macatee of CBS Sports. “It’s so rare to be able to see a new side of them. You can tell they’re having fun out there and it’s fun for us to be a part of it.”
The Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater at Reynolds Plantation is the premier head coach-celebrity golf event in the nation pitting rivals against each other in a spirited, but light-hearted competition. The event features pairings that include a university head coach and a celebrity alumnus from the same school competing in a scramble format against other university teams from around the country. The event will award $350,000 in scholarship winnings among the 13 university teams and will donate another $115,000 to charity.
“The Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater is a fantastic event,” said Alabama head coach Nick Saban. “They did an outstanding job of making it a first-class event and we really enjoyed being a part of the tournament.”
Players and teams for the 2008 Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater include:
TEAM: COACH: CELEBRITY:
Alabama Nick Saban Ken Stabler
Arizona State Frank Kush Michael Haynes
Auburn Tommy Tuberville Pat Sullivan
Boston College Jeff Jagodzinski Chris O’Donnell
Colorado Bill McCartney Kordell Stewart
Georgia Tech Paul Johnson Jon Barry
Maryland Ralph Friedgen Neil O’Donnell
Michigan Rich Rodriguez Brian Griese
Minnesota Tubby Smith Jim Petersen
South Carolina Steve Spurrier Sterling Sharpe
UCLA Rick Neuheisel Sinjin Smith
Virginia Tech Frank Beamer Dell Curry (defending champions)
Wake Forest Jim Grobe Billy Packer
“This field of coaches and celebrities is simply awesome,” said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO. “One thing is for sure, this year’s match will be even more toughly contested than last year’s. These guys are here to win.”
In addition to seeing competitive golf on a championship-caliber golf course in a beautiful, lakeside setting, viewers will be treated to personal interviews with all the participating coaches that give viewers an inside look at the personalities that drive the men that roam the sidelines of these top national programs.
“The Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater was a first-class, well-organized event played on an outstanding golf course,” Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez said. “Brian Griese and I really enjoyed the competition against coaches and distinguished alumni from other institutions.”
“We are thrilled to, once again, host the Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater,” said Mercer Reynolds, chairman/CEO of Linger Longer Companies. “The coaches and celebrities always make this a fun event and this year, we had a hard-fought competition on our Oconee Course. We are excited to share the beauty of Reynolds Plantation with the nation on Christmas Day.”
The Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater at Reynolds Plantation is produced by veteran golf producer Jim Walton Jr. in conjunction with Pithey Communications for CBS Sports. Walton has also produced other golf specials including the ADT Cliffs Challenge, the Palmer Cup, The Pressure Challenge, the Doyle Brunson & Dewey Tomko Invitational and the Kiwi Challenge. The event’s executive producer is Scott Savlov of Savlov Consulting, Inc. who also executive produced such events as The Par 3 Challenge on Fox, the Under Pressure Challenge on CBS and Rock the Rock from Alcatraz on VH1.
The tournament was played April 29 at the beautiful Oconee Course at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia and was taped for the national broadcast by CBS from 2:30 – 4 p.m. (ET) on Christmas Day.
For more information on the event, visit www.Chick-fil-ABowlAlmaMater.com.
