Hall of Fame coach Jim Ringer halts event that honored the memory of his son. Here’s why

First, Jim Ringer prayed about his decision.

Last year’s Brett Ringer Memorial Golf Tournament had raised the most money ever. It raised more than $18,000 to provide ten, $500 scholarships to students attending Lancaster, South Pointe, Northwestern and Rock Hill high schools. There also was scholarship money for the South Carolina Coaches Association, and the support staff of Clemson University’s athletic department.

However, there were obstacles.

Ringer suffered a really bad hip injury from a fall six months ago. An injury that makes it hard for him to travel.

The former Rock Hill High head football coach now lives three hours away from Rock Hill in a one-bedroom condominium on Seabrook Island in Charleston.

Putting on a tournament this year just did not seem like the best decision.

So the S.C. Hall of Fame football coach has decided to cancel the tournament -- for good.

“I think with all the things of having to go through getting a new sponsor, and setting things up like that, with me being over three hours away, I was just going to have to call on too many people to help me up there,” Ringer said. “I know they would’ve been willing to do it, but like I said, I didn’t want to cause them any more problems.”

Honoring the memory of Brett Ringer

The golf tournament honors the memory of Ringer’s late son, Brett Ringer, who died in the summer of 2001 in a fireworks warehouse explosion.

Brett worked at the warehouse during his summers away from Clemson University, where he was pursuing his master’s degree.

He also was a member of the video technology staff for Clemson University athletics.

“(Brett) literally just showed up and never complained,” said Rick Bagby, the Assistant Athletic Director for Video and Technology at Clemson University.

Brett worked for Bagby in the video department.

“(The video technology department) was small. We had to do a lot of different tasks, and he just always jumped in and did whatever the team needed to get the job done.

“I’ll just never forget him. The guy was awesome. He was quiet and had a very dry sense of humor. He never spoke, so he’s one of those guys that when he actually did speak, you’d listen. I know sometimes that’s a cliche, but I’ll never forget it because everybody knew his work ethic and his ability to get something done.”

Jim Ringer made the decision to cancel the event on Mother’s Day weekend with Walt Gainey, a former athletic director at Rock Hill High. Gainey has helped with every Brett Ringer Memorial golf tournament since the first one in 2002.

This year’s tournament had been scheduled for June 15.

“This is something that Brett is probably smiling down on us about right now,” Jim said. “Because all he ever wanted to do when he was alive was help people. I really think that if he were still alive, he’d still be up at Clemson, working in the video department.”

Ringer said he will still honor this year’s scholarships. As intended, the value of these scholarships has been increased to $600 for each student.