SUNRIVER, Ore., May 1, 2006 â?¦ Treating competitors like VIPs, Sunriver Resort just may be the most popular championship site in college golf. Where else is every player in the tournament issued a complimentary bicycle to ride all week? But that’s one of the things that makes the players’ week unique at Sunriver Resort — the only resort in America to host collegiate championships every year since 2000.
"It’s a real treat for the teams to come to a resort setting," said Rich Taylor, Director of Golf Sales and Marketing for Destinations Hotels & Resorts, which operates Sunriver Resort, this year’s host for the 109th NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships, May 31-June 3, 2006 at the Crosswater Golf Club. "They get to have the same memorable experience that our guests enjoy. We have the staff here who know how to roll out the red carpet."
The University of Portland is the host school for this year’s men’s national championships.
Sunriver has hosted NCAA men’s and women’s golf championships at both the Division I and Division II levels, on both the Crosswater and Meadows courses. In April, Sunriver hosted its sixth consecutive Mountain West Conference Championship tournament – the men’s finals played on the 11-year-old Bob Cupp-designed Crosswater course (7,683 yards, par 72) that will challenge the national championship again this year.
As a result of an innovative approach to "recruiting" events, Sunriver Resort this spring is adding its 14th major college event to its resume, dating back to its debut on the national scene with the 1999 NCAA Women’s Fall Preview.
The relationship has been a "win-win," Taylor said, in that while the college teams find themselves doing things they don’t normally do at a tournament – from afternoon white-water rafting trips to bike rides on 35 miles of paved trails, to snowball fights at nearby Mt. Bachelor – Sunriver Resort also benefits from a business perspective – filling rooms with players, coaches and families prior to peak season, while exposing its award-winning courses on a national stage.
Oregon State University, the host school of last year’s women’s national championship, was Sunriver Resort’s original partner, agreeing to be the host school for the NCAA Women’s Championship in 2000, as well. "Oregon State was instrumental in opening the door to the NCAA," Taylor said. "Through that teamwork, we have been able to learn how to work with the NCAA, and what works best for its national golf championships."
Sunriver Resort and the community are located on 3,200 acres along the Big and Little Deschutes Rivers. The resort is recognized nationally for its golf, recreation, meetings, and spa programs and facilities. It is one of only 25 Golf Magazine Gold Medal Resorts in the nation and Crosswater is No. 28 on the 2005 Golf Digest list of "America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses." Crosswater also is designated a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary by Audubon International.
The Northwest’s most popular resort destination, Sunriver offers more than 500 deluxe accommodations, including the beautifully renovated Lodge Village rooms and suites and the remarkable River Lodges, the Resort also offers the largest rental selection of private vacation homes and condominiums in Sunriver.
This week is one of the rare times college players get to stay right on the golf course, with accommodations during the NCAA Championships set in the heart of the Resort.
"We have developed a very strong partnership with the NCAA," Taylor said. "Together with the host schools, we all work well together. With all the great players who have competed at Sunriver Resort, we have had the opportunity to be involved with a part of golf history."
That tradition and legacy is to be enhanced again this year.
More information about Sunriver Resort is available at www.sunriver-resort.com and by calling 1-800-801-8825.
Contact:
Ed Vyeda
Hunter Public Relations – West
(831) 375-1747
evyeda@hunter-pr.com
