NCAA Legislative Exemption Adopted For

Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic 

EL PASO, Texas (April 1, 2008) - The 60-day override period for NCAA legislative proposal 2007-93 has expired, giving way to the adoption of the proposal and new life for the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic.

The tournament exemption was originally approved by the NCAA Board of Directors on Jan. 15, but it had to withstand an override period by NCAA membership. 

"We are really excited about the renewal of our exemption," said Sun Bowl Association executive director Bernie Olivas. "Now we can move forward without having to worry if there will be another tournament. The Sun Bowl Association and Western Refining are excited to know that the tournament will flourish in El Paso for years to come."

Proposal 2007-93, which was sponsored by Conference USA, was written in order to give the nation's top collegiate golf tournament its exempt status back. The status was lost last year, when proposal 2006-107 eliminated the certification process for all exempt events. 

"Western Refining is excited to be a part of one of the nation's premier collegiate golf events," said Western Refining president Paul Foster. "We are excited about the future of this event and what that means to El Paso."

With the addition of the exemption, the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic can continue to exist. It is the only individual stroke-play event in the NCAA and has been rated the No. 1 men's collegiate golf tournament in the nation for the past five years by the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. 

This is not the first time that the tournament has felt the pressure from the NCAA. In 1986, the NCAA passed legislation limiting playing dates for men's golf that forced the tournament to be cancelled for 1987 season. Central Connecticut State University's Lowell Lukas was instrumental in helping secure the exemption in 1987 which lasted until the current legislation passed.

This past year, Wake Forest University's Webb Simpson won the 33rd edition of the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic, putting his name on a list of champions that includes Jerry Pate, Scott Simpson, Davis Love, David Duval, Notah Begay and Tiger Woods.

Alumni of this event have gone on to earn just over $1 billion on the PGA Tour. The alumni list includes 17 U.S. Amateur champions and 20 major championship winners. The field has also included Jim Furyk, David Toms, Justin Leonard and Stewart Cink and rising stars Ryan Moore, J.B. Holmes, Nick Watney and Nicholas Thompson.

The tournament, which is hosted by the Sun Bowl Association, is slated for Nov. 23-25 at the par-71, 6,837-yard El Paso Country Club.

In all, 125 colleges and universities have participated in the tournament, raising more than $600,000 in scholarship money for the participating institutions. Each university is awarded a $1,000 scholarship if a golfer from that school competes in the tournament.