Big Red Open still has space for golfers, and sponsors to support Plymouth Athletics

Courtesy of The Pilot News.

PLYMOUTH — Last year Plymouth Athletic Director Josh Troyer was in his first two months on the job and already in the middle of one of the big fundraising social events of the year for Plymouth sports, The Big Red Open.
This year a little earlier start has helped but it’s still hectic.
“(This year) We met in mid-March or so as a complete staff and it’s tough because you are balancing the spring season coaches are trying to prep for their summer workouts and it takes a lot of time for everyone,” he said.
“We are still in the process of getting sponsorships secured and reaching out to people who may have sponsored in the past and trying to work out where there might be some new sponsorship possibilities,” said Troyer. “You can never have enough funding. There is always a need. We’ve set goals of what we would like to do to provide for our teams next year and into the future too.”
The annual event at Pretty Lake Golf Club, this year slated for August 2, is a big part of how PHS keeps teams moving into the new season.
“Last year this was about $38,000 of our overall funding which is about a quarter of our overall budget,” said Troyer.
It seems like a lot, but the cost of athletics at any school in Indiana is covered by donations, fundraisers, and gate receipts. Tax dollars that go to public schools are for academics and not athletics.
“I shared with the school board a few months ago that around $30,000 a year is what we are spending on uniforms,” said Troyer. “That’s just to keep them on a five-year rotation which doesn’t seem long but when you have to pass them down to JV that’s 10 years. Sports that have a freshman team that’s 15. With wear and tear that’s a really long time. Some schools are probably on three-year rotation but we try to go a little longer to try and be good stewards of the money we have.”
Uniforms are one thing. Officials and equipment are another.
“Officials alone last year were almost $30,000,” said Troyer. “You talk about game balls for the different sports and baseballs and softballs are expensive. We are working on trying to get those things on a rotation as well. We are also trying to get some larger projects done with facilities too.”
The good news is the Plymouth ledger sheet balances.
“This year we will probably break even,” said Troyer. “You try to save some for other things in the future but you want the athletes and coaches who are bringing that money in to see the fruit of it while they are playing too.”
“You just have to stretch every dollar to try to make the biggest impact for all of our athletes.”
Troyer and his staff feel fortunate with the support they have received from large corporate sponsorships, among them the pledge from Oliver Ford, First Source Bank, McDonald’s, and Fulcrum Rigging which allow every Plymouth student to attend all games for free.
With other projects on hold for want of funding any help is appreciated.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have some very generous corporate sponsors and every dollar counts. We have several levels of sponsorship and we’re open to anybody who may want to help,” said Troyer.
In addition to sponsorship, those wishing to help could make their contribution by coming out for a day of golf, lunch, and socializing. While the number of teams playing in the Big Red Open is limited, Troyer is hoping they can field enough teams to add a second flight to the day’s events.
“We are going to try to make the decision by the end of the week if we are going to play two flights or one,” said Troyer. “Last year we had to turn away a couple of teams because you can only have so many out on the golf course at once and we don’t want to do that but we also need enough to play two flights.”
“We’d like to have a morning and afternoon flight with lunch in between,” he said. “Everybody gets lunch from Puerto Vallarta On The Lake. They do a great job and we had a lot of positive comments last year on what they did. This year every golfer will get a logo golf ball, some tees, and a poker chip to say thanks for playing. We’ve got plenty of giveaways and Oliver Ford has a car for a hole-in-one on one of the par threes. It’s a great way for me and our coaches to meet and see a lot of our supporters and alumni.”
This year’s Big Red Open will be at Pretty Lake Golf Club on Friday, August 2. A four-person team is $400 and includes lunch, course games, and giveaways.
To register your team or to be a sponsor contact Josh Troyer at jtroyer@plymouth.k12.in.us or call the PHS Athletic Office at 574-936-3215, or check out the Plymouth Athletics Facebook or on X @PHS_Athletics1.