The University of the Incarnate Word broke ground on the 13,000-sq. ft. building at the San Antonio golf course on December 3 to house its new professional golf management program.
The University of the Incarnate Word broke ground on December 3 at The Republic Golf Club in San Antonio on a 13,000-sq. ft. structure that will house the university’s new professional golf management program, the San Antonio (Texas) Express-News reported.
The university’s H-E-B School of Business is developing the new program, which will offer a bachelor’s business administration degree in professional golf management, the Express-News reported.
The building, representing a total investment by the university of more than $3 million, is scheduled to open in time for the fall 2015 semester. It will be the home for the UIW men’s and women’s NCAA Division I golf teams, and include four classrooms, training facilities, offices and a specially designed putting green, the Express-News reported.
University President Louis Agnese said he and other UIW leaders have spent the last few years mulling over the creation of a golf management program and where such courses could take place. Their search led to the purchase of almost five acres of land adjacent to The Republic’s greens, the Express-News reported.
“This program will be as global as the university is. About 20 percent of our undergraduates and graduate students are international,” Agnese said. “Golf is a very big industry around the world, especially in Asia. There are many opportunities there for students to be involved in our program and to go back and get well-paying jobs.”
Agnese said with UIW recently becoming the No. 1 private university in the country graduating Hispanics, the golf management program is an opportunity “for an underrepresented group, especially Hispanics, to get involved in a growth industry with lots of well-paying jobs.”
Agnese added UIW hopes to attract a hotelier to develop a hotel on excess land that the university has at the golf course. That way, Agnese said, groups of local and international golfers will have a place to stay on site while playing at The Republic, the Express-News reported.
“It’s very exciting. This is the first of its kind for golf management,” said District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran. “Not only is UIW once again investing academically in District 3, but infrastructure-wise, building a new building and creating new jobs.”
Viagran said the program may encourage local children and teenagers who play golf at a municipal course to realize new career possibilities, the Express-News reported.
“Kids who perhaps grew up playing golf at Riverside or Mission del Lago or Brackenridge now see they can get an education and a job out of it,” she said.
Foresight Golf, the owner/operator of The Republic, will help to develop curriculum and personnel staffing for classes at the UIW golf management program, according to program director Brian Graybeal.
“I realized this is about growing the business of golf, which is so important nowadays especially because it’s a growing game. There’s an opportunity to make your mark here,” Graybeal said.
Graybeal said he hopes to eventually see a maximum of 25 students per class level at the facility. The eight courses in the curriculum will range from food and beverage and customer service, to merchandising and marketing. Toward the program’s end, students will have a shot at three paid internships at local golf courses, the Express-News reported.
“So when they walk out, students will have hands-on experience,” Graybeal said. “They’ll know about profit/loss, daily fees—everything they need to know so that they’re confident going to another golf course.”
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