Company gets naming rights
By Braden Howell
Staff Reporter

A long-term relationship began Wednesday afternoon when Raleigh Green, president of Greenwood Office Outfitters, presented Athletic Director Eric Hyman with a $25,000 check, giving the company naming sponsorship of the Horned Frog Classic golf tournament, said Mick Ashworth, tournament chairman.

The Horned Frog Classic is an annual golf tournament put on by the TCU Frog Club for the purpose of raising scholarship money for the men’s and women’s golf teams, Ashworth said. The tournament takes place each October at Colonial Country Club.

Associate Director of TCU Frog Club Mark Mourer said Greenwood has been a top-level sponsor of the golf tournament the past three years. The company was the leading donor at last year’s tournament, which raised $175,000 for the golf program.

Golfer Brooke Tull said there is a direct correlation between the success of the Horned Frog Classic and the success of the golf teams.

“It covers our scholarships and if there wasn’t any money for scholarships we wouldn’t be nearly as successful,” said Tull, a junior speech communication major.

The Horned Frog Classic was the vision of Ashworth, a TCU alumnus, who said he wanted to raise money for the golf program because both the men’s and women’s teams are perennial contenders for a national title. Ashworth said every year the tournament gets bigger and more money gets raised.

“At the first tournament, I sold 23 corporate sponsors at $500 a piece,” Ashworth said. “Last year, we had 32 corporate sponsors at $3,250 a piece.”

He said offering first-class gifts has helped attract more corporate sponsors. He said participants get first-class meals at the tournament and tee-gifts include hats, shirts and a variety of golf equipment. However, he said, the most appealing gift for many companies is a trip with the football team.

“Every corporate sponsor gets a trip for two and two tickets to one football away game,” Ashworth said. “They fly with the team and stay at the team’s hotel.”

Ashworth said the tournament is a great opportunity for people who care about TCU athletics to get together and enjoy a golf game with people they would not normally play with, such as Hyman, varsity coaches and members from both golf teams.

He said in years past, the event has also had its share of celebrity participants, including renowned sports writer Dan Jenkins, hall of fame quarterback Sammy Baugh, both TCU alumni and local sportscaster Scott Murray.

“After Sammy Baugh graduated in 1937, the first TCU event he returned for was the golf tournament in 1981,” Ashworth said.

For participants who make special contributions and show continuing support to TCU golf, there is a Horned Frog Classic Hall of Honor, and new members are inducted every year in a special ceremony, Ashworth said.

Although Ashworth created the Horned Frog Classic, he is quick to praise those who have helped make the tournament what it is today. He said that Mourer and Frog Club director Hal Roach plan for the event year-round and take charge the day of the tournament.

Ashworth is currently the chairman of a 15-member Horned Frog Classic board of directors, which oversees fund raising and all aspects of the tournament. He said he hopes to continue to work with the Horned Frog Classic for years to come.

“I want to remain chairman as long as I am useful to the tournament,” Ashworth said. “If the time comes that I’m not useful anymore then I will step down, because I always want what’s best for the tournament.”

Braden Howell