Legendary Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes taught those he coached to “pay forward.” Kirk Herbstreit, former quarterback on the 1989-92 Ohio State football team, is doing just that by accepting the honorary chairmanship of the 34th Annual Woody Hayes Celebrity Classic slated for Monday, June 14, 2010 at the New Albany Country Club.
Organized by the Development Board of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the golf outing will raise money to further pediatric health care research in central Ohio. The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities in the United States, supporting basic, clinical, translational and health services research activities at the hospital.
Herbstreit is a 1993 graduate of The Ohio State University, and former OSU quarterback and team captain for the 1992 season. Since 1995 Herbstreit has been a college football analyst for ABC/ESPN. In 1996 he joined Chris Fowler and co-analyst Lee Corso on ESPN’s popular College Gameday program. In 2006 he joined Brett Musberger for ABC’s Saturday Night Prime Time broadcast, broadcast television’s first ever weekly prime time college football game. Herbstreit also annually co-hosts ESPN’s broadcast of the Heisman Trophy ceremony recognizing college football’s top player.
Herbstreit was nominated for a Sports Emmy Award as television’s top studio analyst in 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010. In 2007, the third annual reader survey conducted by the Sports Business Daily named him as the favorite TV game broadcast analyst (all sports) and the favorite studio show analyst for college football. College Gameday was also named the favorite game-related studio show (all sports), and in 2008 College Gameday received the Sports Emmy Award as television’s top studio show (all sports). Herbstreit continues to be affiliated and provide broadcast services to 97.1 FM.
The 2010 Woody Hayes Celebrity Classic offers many ways to participate. The two most popular are Scarlet Teams – $3,000 team registration for four players; and Gray Teams – $1,500 team registration for two players. Both teams are paired with a local media or sports celebrity. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available beginning at the $4,000 level.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the driving range also opening at this time for practice swings. The shot-gun start will begin promptly at 10 a.m. All golfers receive lunch, dinner, drinks, a gift package and two tickets to the event’s kick-off party. The kick-off party will be held Sunday, June 13 at Bar Louie in the Arena District and includes complimentary beer, wine, hors d’oeuvres and a silent and live auction. Bar Louie is located at 504 N. Park Street, Columbus, 43215. *Please note the location change of the kick-off party*
To reserve a spot in the 2010 Woody Hayes Celebrity Classic, contact Cynthia Creedon, Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation, (614) 355-0888 or Cynthia.Creedon@NationwideChildrens.org.
Sponsors of the 2010 Woody Hayes Celebrity Classic include Coca-Cola Columbus, Heidelberg Distributing, The Memorial Tournament and media partner, The CW.
The Development Board of Nationwide Children’s Hospital is a group of corporate volunteers dedicated to raising money to support the hospital’s mission. The Development Board raised more than $550,000 in 2009 through fundraising events including the Woody Hayes Celebrity Classic, Rock ‘N Bowl and Slice of Columbus. Since its inception in 1971, the Development Board has raised more than $4 million for Nationwide Children’s.