South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier and alumnus Sterling Sharpe won the second annual Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater, a golf event sponsored by the Chick-fil-A Bowl that sends prize money back to institutions in the form of scholarships. The pair from South Carolina earned a five-stroke victory and the $100,000 scholarship donation.

The event was April 29 on Reynolds Plantation golf courses on Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Georgia. Participants included Boston College’s Jeff Jagodzinski with actor Chris O’Donnell, Michigan’s Rich Rodriguez with the NFL’s Brian Griese and Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe with broadcast personality Billy Packer.

Last year, Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer and former Hokies basketball student-athlete Dell Curry donated their first-prize money to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund in memory of the students killed in the shootings at the school. Beamer and Curry defended their title in 2008, finishing tied for second with UCLA’s Rick Neuheisel and Sinjin Smith.

The Alma Mater pairs a well-known coach at an institution with a celebrity graduate of the school, often a student-athlete. What makes the event unique is that for the first nine holes of the tournament, the schools are matched up in foursomes, often with a rival school. Another different element is that the tournament prizes are given to the school’s scholarship fund.

The event is appealing for coaches and alumni because of the rivalries that can carry over to the golf course and the opportunity to do something to help the school. The atmosphere at the event is relaxed and family-friendly,  said Chick-fil-A Bowl President Gary Stokan said.

Organizers at the Chick-fil-A Bowl said the event is a perfect way to keep the bowl game in the forefront of people’s minds, even when bowl season is months away.  The Chick-fil-A Bowl also sponsors a charity dodge ball tournament in the spring and the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff to begin football season with the Clemson-Alabama game hosted in Atlanta with ESPN Game Day in Olympic Park.

Additionally, the organization has committed more than $1 million to the Atlanta-based Play it Smart program. Just days before the Chick-fil-A Bowl is played on December 31, the Alma Mater event is televised on Christmas Day.

“We’re building a brand, just like Coca-Cola or Chick-fil-A or NCAA. We want to keep our brand relevant all year long,” said Stokan. “We want to put our name out and do something positive for the community.  We give more than $1 million in charitable donations and scholarships, that’s the most relevant thing we’re doing through all these activities. We feel humbly proud to do that.”