Posted on Friday, March 21, 2025
Dr. Clay Bolton shared a bucket list experience with some of his students last July. An Associate Professor of Sports Management in the Business Department, he led a study away experience to Scotland that included attending the British Open championship at Royal Troon and touring St. Andrews, the legendary birthplace of golf.
“I have the coolest job in the world,” said Dr. Bolton, who will share some of that experience, plus a whole lot more, in the closing lecture of this year’s 3D Journeys travel and lecture series. The series has focused on Scotland and his talk is entitled “Scotland: Home of Golf and the Highland Games.” Free and open to the community, the lecture is on Monday, March 24, at 10 a.m. in the Dickson Assembly Room of Turner Hall.
“You don’t need to love golf or understand how to throw a caber to attend the lecture,” he emphasized.
Golf and the Highland Games are central to Scottish history, culture and identity, according to Dr. Bolton.
“You can’t really separate them.”
Scotland and Georgia are also connected, he points out. Dr. Bolton said he can explain the close connection in two words: Bobby Jones.
An Atlanta native, champion golfer and a founder of both Augusta National Golf Club and The Masters Tournament, Jones is forever linked to Scotland, especially St. Andrews.
Dr. Bolton plans to share how Jones’ incredible life story “encapsulates the bond between Georgia and St. Andrews.”
The professor’s own life story is incredible as well. A native of Aiken, South Carolina, he grew up in a sports-loving family, attending his first Masters golf tournament at age 7 and developing strong, dual loyalties to South Carolina and University of Georgia athletics.
“From age 10, I had a love affair with college sports,” he said, adding that he loved it all – the competition, the bands, the pageantry, the tailgates.
In time, he recognized the cultural and business impact that sports events, like the Masters, have on a community, like Augusta. He set his sights on a career in sports management and, after earning an undergraduate degree at Augusta University, moved on to Georgia Southern.
“I am proud to say I was one of the first members of the master’s in sports management cohort at GSU,” he said. A mentor told him, “You want to work in sports management more than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Work he did.
His sports management career has taken him to UGA, where his boss was his childhood idol, Vince Dooley, the University of South Carolina and Mississippi State, where, at 26, he was the university’s youngest assistant director of athletics and where he earned his Ed.D.
Over his 30-year career, he has spent time in college athletics (NCAA Compliance), student affairs (multiple positions) and for the past 10 years has been a full-time faculty member. He built solid undergraduate programs in Sport and Recreation Management at Southern Wesleyan University and East Texas A&M University before coming to LaGrange College in 2022.
The call to teach, Dr. Bolton said, grew out of his passion for sharing his experiences and guiding young people interested in the sports management field. He relishes mentoring students and assisting them in gaining access to volunteer, internship and entry-level opportunities in the sports management field.
Toward that end, Dr. Bolton has taken LC students to work at the TPC Sawgrass PGA event in Florida, the SEC softball tournament at Auburn and the Super Bowl in New Orleans, where they helped staff the Fan Experience venue. Before heading to Scotland last summer, the study away group also visited Wimbledon in London.
The students raised money for the Scotland/England trip by practicing a bit of sports management. Dr. Bolton and the Sports Management Club were asked to take over responsibility for the annual Tom Duckett Memorial Golf Tournament held during Homecoming Week.
“They planned, executed and evaluated the event,” he said. It’s the kind of hands-on learning, he believes, that prepares them for successful careers.
“The joy I get,” he said, “is when I can show students ‘You can do it!’ We help give them a blueprint.”
It’s the reason Dr. Bolton believes he has the “coolest job” in the world. And how he views the roles of the college and its faculty.
“All we do is change lives,” he said.
The Power of Intentional Habits
Monday, March 24
7 p.m., Bailey Room
Miracle Maker meeting
Tuesday, March 25
11 a.m., Corn Auditorium
Atlanta Motor Speedway: Gian D'Amico and Mckenzie Watson
Tuesday, March 25
11 a.m., Dickson Assembly Room
Real Talk: Service Edition
Tuesday, March 25
11:15 a.m., Jones Zone, Turner Hall
Worship Night
Wednesday, March 26
8:15 p.m., Dickson Assembly Room
Job Fair
Thursday, March 27
11 a.m., Dickson Assembly Room
Baseball
The Panthers enjoyed a dominant three-game sweep over Asbury University March 13-14, winning games by 16-2, 25-13 and 31-16, respectively. After falling 10-3 to Emory on Tuesday, the team returns to LaGrange to host their first home conference series of the season as Covenant comes to town. First pitch is scheduled on Friday, March 21 (today), at 7 p.m.
Junior Colin Jones was named CCS Player of the Week. He drove in 15 runs and scored eight times while blasting five home runs.
Softball
LC has hit its stride of late, winning the past four games in back-to-back doubleheader sweeps of Meredith and CCS foe Covenant. They dominated Gordon State in a doubleheader at home on Thursday. Freshman Cannon Ramsey and senior Zoe Veres each notched grand slams to help the Panthers clinch the sweep. The team will compete against Point at home on Wednesday.
Lacrosse
The Panthers take the field on Friday, March 21 (today), as they travel to Brevard, North Carolina, to face off in USA South action. Faceoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Beach Volleyball
After competing in tri-match action at Huntingdon earlier this week, LC will hit the road March 21-22 to battle with host Berry and others in the tournament.
Men’s Golf
The Panthers will travel to Jekyll Island, Georgia, March 21-22 as they compete in the Jekyll Island Intercollegiate. The event will be hosted by Oglethorpe at the Pine Lakes Golf Course.
Tennis
The LC Men’s and Women’s teams will compete March 22-23 as they host Covenant College and Gadsden State Community College at home.
(Please note that schedules may change due to circumstances beyond our control. Please check www.lagrangepanthers.com to confirm.)
Friday, March 21 – Men’s Golf at Jekyll Island Intercollegiate, Jekyll Island, Georgia
Friday, March 21 – Lacrosse at Brevard, 4 p.m., Brevard, North Carolina
Friday, March 21 – Baseball (Home) vs. Covenant, 7 p.m., Cleaveland Field at Williamson Stadium
Saturday, March 22 – Men’s Golf at Jekyll Island Intercollegiate, Jekyll Island, Georgia
Saturday, March 22 – Beach Volleyball at Berry, 8:30 a.m., Rome, Georgia
Saturday, March 22 – Men’s Tennis (Home) vs. Covenant, 11 a.m., Greer Tennis Courts
Saturday, March 22 – Women’s Tennis (Home) vs. Covenant, 11 a.m., Greer Tennis Courts
Saturday, March 22 – Baseball (Home) vs. Covenant, 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., Cleveland Field at Williamson Stadium
Sunday, March 23 – Men’s Golf at Jekyll Island Intercollegiate, Jekyll Island, Georgia
Sunday, March 23 – Men’s Tennis (Home) vs. Gadsden State Community College, 1 p.m., Greer Tennis Courts
Monday, March 24 – Baseball at Berry, 6 p.m., Rome, Georgia
Wednesday, March 26 – Beach Volleyball at Emmanuel University, 10 a.m., Franklin Springs, Georgia
Wednesday, March 26 – Softball (Home) vs. Point, 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., LC Softball Complex
Wednesday, March 26 – Lacrosse (Home) vs. Huntingdon, 7 p.m., Callaway Stadium
LaGrange College and Technical College System of Georgia agreement strengthens nursing pathways, LaGrange Daily News, March 18
Category: College, Community, Events
Keywords: Athletics, Education
