Nation’s premier collegiate coach golf event tees off for $300,000 in charity
Greensboro, Ga. (April 28, 2025) – The Southern Company Peach Bowl Challenge today announced the official pairings for its 18th annual charity golf tournament. A 12-team field of current and former college football coaches will compete for a share of the $300,000 charity purse April 29 at Reynolds Lake Oconee outside Atlanta.
Pairings were determined by balancing handicaps between teams. The nation’s premier collegiate coach golf event will be played in Two Man Scramble format with Stableford scoring in an 18-hole tournament.
Official pairings for this year’s Southern Company Peach Bowl Challenge are set to include:
| COACH | CURRENT OR FORMER FBS SCHOOL(S) | CHARITY |
| Team 1 | ||
| Shane Beamer | South Carolina | Beamer Family Foundation |
| Houston Nutt | Boise State, Arkansas, Ole Miss | Chickasaw Foundation |
| Team 2 | ||
| Manny Diaz | Duke | Durham Public Schools Foundation |
| Paul Johnson | Navy, Georgia Tech | Paul and Susan Johnson Family Foundation |
| Team 3 | ||
| P.J. Fleck | Minnesota | Row the Boat – Fleck Family Fund |
| Tom O’Brien | Boston College, NC State | National Medal of Honor Leadership & Education Center |
| Team 4 | ||
| Hugh Freeze | Auburn | Global Orphan Project |
| Steve Spurrier | Duke, Florida, South Carolina | HBC Foundation |
| Team 5 | ||
| Brent Key | Georgia Tech | Key Family Foundation |
| Chan Gailey | Georgia Tech | Fellowship of Christian Athletes – Georgia Region |
| Team 6 | ||
| Dan Lanning | Oregon | OHSU Foundation – Knight Cancer Institute |
| Randy Edsall | Maryland, UConn | Edsall Family Foundation |
| Team 7 | ||
| Jeff Monken | Army | Mission 22 |
| Derek Dooley | Louisiana Tech, Tennessee | Champions Place |
| Team 8 | ||
| Dan Mullen | UNLV | Mullen Family 36 Foundation |
| Scott Satterfield | Cincinnati | Back2Back Cincinnati |
| Team 9 | ||
| Pat Narduzzi | Pitt | UPMC Children’s Hospital Foundation |
| Rick Neuheisel | Colorado, Washington, UCLA | Lord Wedgwood Charity |
| Team 10 | ||
| Mike Norvell | Florida State | Keep Climbing Family Foundation |
| Urban Meyer | Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, Ohio State | Urban And Shelley Meyer Family Foundation |
| Team 11 | ||
| Kirby Smart | Georgia | Kirby Smart Family Foundation |
| Gus Malzahn | Florida State (OC), Ark. State, Auburn, UCF | Fort Smith Boys & Girls Clubs |
| Team 12 | ||
| Kyle Whittingham | Utah | Guadalupe Center |
| Jim Grobe | Ohio, Wake Forest, Baylor | Fisher DeBerry Foundation |
This year’s parings will feature both the first and second-place teams from last year’s tournament, including the defending champion duo of Florida State head coach Mike Norvell and Urban Meyer. South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer will also once again partner with teammate Houston Nutt after finishing second in 2024. Norvell and Meyer defeated Beamer and Nutt in a tournament-record, four-hole playoff to win last year’s Southern Company Peach Bowl Challenge.
Proceeds from the event benefit charitable foundations selected by the coaches. The first-place duo will split $65,000 between the two winning coaches’ charities, while the remainder of the purse will be divided based on the finish of the other teams.
Since its creation in 2007, the event has contributed a total of $9.7 million in scholarship and charity, helping make the Peach Bowl college football’s most charitable bowl organization.
Final results and charity payouts will be revealed Tuesday, April 29 at the conclusion of the tournament.
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About Peach Bowl, Inc.:
Peach Bowl, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization that operates the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the Aflac Kickoff Game, the Southern Company Peach Bowl Challenge charity golf tournament, and manages and operates The Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank national coach of the year award. It is the ninth-oldest bowl game in the country and is recognized as college football’s most charitable bowl organization, having donated more than $65.4 million to organizations in need since 2002.
Peach Bowl, Inc Events:
Our Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl is one of the New Year’s Six bowls selected to host the College Football Playoff including the CFP Semifinal in 2026. Over its 57 years, the game has drawn 3.38 million fans in attendance, a total television audience of 257.1 million viewers on ESPN, and has created $934.2 million in direct economic impact and $55.18 million in tax revenue for Atlanta and Georgia.
Our Aflac Kickoff Game is the nation’s longest-running kickoff game and has reshaped the opening weekend in college football. With 21 games since 2008, the game has regularly hosted the nation’s top teams and has drawn nearly 1.4 million fans, 108.6 million television viewers, distributed $127.7 million in team payouts and created an additional $593.8 million in economic impact and $41.5 million in tax revenue for Atlanta and Georgia.
The Southern Company Peach Bowl Challenge is the nation’s premier charity golf tournament featuring top current and former college football coaches. Hosted at the beautiful Reynolds Lake Oconee resort outside Atlanta each spring, the event has generated $9.7 million for the various foundations and charities supported by its coaches.
The Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank is college football’s most coveted national coaching award. Named for legendary Georgia Tech coach Bobby Dodd, The Dodd Trophy annually honors the FBS football coach whose program represents three pillars of success: scholarship, leadership and integrity.
About Southern Company:
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is a leading energy provider serving 9 million residential and commercial customers across the Southeast and beyond through its family of companies. Providing clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy with excellent service is our mission. The company has electric operating companies in three states, natural gas distribution companies in four states, a competitive generation company, a leading distributed energy distribution company with national capabilities, a fiber optics network and telecommunications services. Through an industry-leading commitment to innovation, resilience and sustainability, we are taking action to meet customers’ and communities’ needs while advancing our goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Our uncompromising values ensure we put the needs of those we serve at the center of everything we do and are the key to our sustained success. We are transforming energy into economic, environmental and social progress for tomorrow. Our corporate culture and hiring practices have earned the company national awards and recognition from numerous organizations, including Forbes, The Military Times, DiversityInc, Black Enterprise, J.D. Power, Fortune, Human Rights Campaign and more. To learn more, visit www.southerncompany.com.
