For The Dawgs: Univ. Of Georgia Operating Nationwide Tour Event
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Adams Announcing That UGA Will Host
Nationwide Tour Event For Next Three Years |
The Univ. of Georgia (UGA) is "getting into the pro golf business, hosting and operating a Nationwide Tour event for the next three years," according to Tim Tucker of the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION. UGA President Michael Adams on Wednesday announced the deal and said that the event is "designed to be 'self-supporting' and that all profits will go toward need-based scholarships for UGA students." The event, "to be played on the UGA Golf Course and called the 'Athens Classic at UGA,' preserves Athens' stop on the Nationwide Tour." The Tour had held its Athens event at Jennings Mill Country Club since '06, but the "financially troubled club's contract expired after this year's event in April." That left a Nationwide Tour stop for nest year "in doubt before the UGA deal developed." UGA's Auxiliary Services Department -- "not the Athletic Association -- will operate the tournament." Former UGA Associate VP George Stafford, who will help run the tournament, said that UGA's "initial budget to start the event will be about $500,000." UGA said that a contract with the Nationwide Tour was "expected to be completed by the end" of this week. Revenue streams "will include sales of sponsorships and pro-am berths." Tucker noted while it is "unusual for a college to operate a professional sporting event, Ohio State has had a Nationwide Tour event since 2007," hosting the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational at The Ohio State Univ. Golf Club in late July (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 6/4).
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