Hugh Freeze to compete in 2016 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Challenge
By Brad Logan
The Chick-fil-A Peach 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 the past nine years, the event has provided $5.3 million in scholarship and charitable contributions.
This year’s edition, set for May 1-3 at the Reynolds Lake Oconee resort outside Atlanta, is scheduled to feature 14 teams and top national coaches such as Freeze, Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, and many more.
Freeze will partner with former Ole Miss and NFL great Wesley Walls. The Pontotoc, MS and native and All-American was a standout tight end and defensive end while in Oxford and furthered his career in the NFL with the 49ers, Panthers, Saints and Packers.
In special recognition of their coaching legacies, newly retired coaches Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech) and Steve Spurrier (South Carolina) will represent their former teams for the final time in this year’s event.
The field of competitors is scheduled to include three former winning teams including Paul Johnson and Jon Barry of Georgia Tech (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015), Steve Spurrier and Sterling Sharpe from South Carolina (2008, 2009), and Frank Beamer and Dell Curry of Virginia Tech (2007).
Five of the participating coaches led their teams to New Year’s Six Bowl Games in the College Football Playoff last season, including Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney, who faced off for the National Championship. The lineup includes three Heisman Trophy winners, four Dodd Trophy winners, and two new teams from the University of Georgia and University of Houston.
Teams will be vying for the $100,000 first-place prize, with each team receiving a portion of the $540,000 purse. All charity payouts will be split equally between an endowed scholarship at each university and a charity of the coach’s choice.
The field of competitors for the featured event is projected to include:
| TEAM | COACH | CELEBRITY ALUM | ALL-TIME WINNINGS |
| Alabama | Nick Saban | Chris Mohr | $228,333 |
| Auburn | Gus Malzahn | Bo Jackson | $100,000 |
| Cincinnati | Tommy Tuberville | J.K. Schaffer | $90,000 |
| Clemson | Dabo Swinney | Steve Fuller | $155,000 |
| Georgia | Kirby Smart | David Dukes | New participant |
| Georgia Tech | Paul Johnson | Jon Barry | $682,500 |
| Houston | Tom Herman | Andre Ware | New participant |
| Miss State | Dan Mullen | Fred McCrary | $160,000 |
| North Carolina | Larry Fedora | B.J. Surhoff | $115,000 |
| NC State | Dave Doeren | Terry Harvey | $150,000 |
| Ohio State | Urban Meyer | Jeff Logan | $80,000 |
| Ole Miss | Hugh Freeze | Wesley Walls | $182,500 |
| South Carolina | Steve Spurrier | Sterling Sharpe | $477,000 |
| Virginia Tech | Frank Beamer | Dell Curry | $355,000 |
The tournament will be broadcast on ESPNU in August and December. Specific dates will be announced this summer.