SWT slates sixth annual Celebrity Classic

SAN MARCOS, TEXAS — Dozens of show business celebrities and former professional athletes will descend on the Central Texas cities of San Marcos and Bastrop in May as Southwest Texas State University hosts its sixth annual SWT Celebrity Classic scholarship fund-raiser.

The three-day event, to be held May 6-8, consists of a special celebrity dinner and comedy golf scramble in San Marcos, and culminates with the SWT Celebrity Golf Classic tournament at ColoVista Country Club in Bastrop.

Event organizers are currently inviting celebrity guests and hope to have a complete celebrity roster soon. Past participants have included Samuel L. Jackson, Jeff Foxworthy, Ann Cusack, Patrick Wayne, Barry Corbin and Bill Engvall from the entertainment field. Athletes participating at past classics have included Olympic gold medal swimmer Josh Davis and former NFL players Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Doug English, Dan Pastorini, Bubba Smith, Bill Kilmer and Elvin Bethea.

“We plan to have more celebrities than ever before, and we’re hoping to involve the general public in as many events as possible,” said Michael Willoughby, dean of the Graduate College at SWT and event co-chair.

Some of the weekend’s activities are free of charge and open to the public. The Celebrity Comedy Scramble begins at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 7, at the SWT Golf Course at Aquarena Center. The event puts celebrity golfers in a variety of difficult and improbable golf situations that require athletic and comedic improvisation. The public is invited to attend.

Later Sunday at 6 p.m., SWT will host the Celebrity Celebration Dinner at the LBJ Student Center on campus. Tickets are $45 and may be reserved through the SWT Office of Special Projects by calling 245-2368. Award-winning comedian Bill Engvall served as master of ceremonies at last year’s classic, and he has been invited to perform this year as well. The celebrity dinner will include a silent auction, a buffet dinner and live entertainment by several attending celebrities.

The SWT Celebrity Golf Classic will begin at 11 a.m. Monday, May 8, at Bastrop’s Colo Vista Country Club. Celebrities will be paired with participating teams. Entry fees begin at $250 for an individual golfer and increase through a variety of sponsorship levels. Reservations should be made by April 3. Contact Fred March at 245-3572 for registration information.

Although participants must pre-register and pay entry fees, the public is invited to attend and watch the tournament free of charge.