Par for the Cause Mezquite Golf Tournament Returns for 14th Year
July 24, 2024 - Dorene DiNaro
Each August, golfers come together to hit the links for our Lobos at the annual El Mezquite Golf tournament which raises money for scholarships for UNM students. Exciting prizes, unique food, and a fun, party-like atmosphere are par for the cause, and the reason golfers return year after year. The tournament, currently in its 14th year, hosts 50 teams and to date has raised upwards of $750,000.
The tournament is the brainchild of El Mezquite President and CEO, Sergio Bermudez. An avid golfer, Bermudez has participated in several tournaments, but never one to specifically benefit Hispanic students. “Here in New Mexico, Latinos are a large part of our population,” he said. “Where’s the tournament for them?”
Subsequently, he was introduced to then Vice President for Student Affairs, Eliseo “Cheo” Torres. “My brother knew Cheo before I did, and he thought Cheo might be the right person to talk to about the tournament idea,” Bermudez said.
Torres had already hosted a Mexican Independence Day event to raise scholarship funds and was a little bit hesitant about the tournament idea at first. The pair talked more about it and decided to move forward with the tournament.
“I’ve been to so many tournaments and I know what I like and don’t like,” Bermudez said. “I wanted to create something completely different.” The pair organized their inaugural tournament which was held at the UNM Championship Golf Course and had 32 teams, who each bought sponsorships ranging from $750 to $5,000. Not a bad start or turnout, but one they used as the foundation to build on.
“It was a learning experience,” Bermudez said. “In the first tournament, we played eightsomes where two groups are sent out to the holes together, and that made the tournament last six hours—much longer than normal.” He remembered. “We were on the course so long that the sprinklers came on and people had to rush back to the clubhouse.”
The first tournament raised nearly $15,000, and Bermudez set his sights on growing and improving the tournament—centered around his Mexican heritage—to make it a unique experience. This year’s tournament sold out and will include UNM departments and businesses – large and small – buying sponsorships ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.
“One of the big things that makes us different is the food,” Bermudez said. “Most tournaments serve burgers, and that’s OK, but I don’t always want a burger, I want a burrito,” Bermudez said. Golfers are treated to a burrito lunch, drinks, and ceviche along the way along with a golf cart stocked with salsa and chips. At the end of the day, there’s a banquet dinner and tres leches cake. “You don’t find that at other tournaments,” he said.
José Villar, director for UNM College Enrichment and Outreach Programs, and part of the tournament’s planning committee, believes that the tournament’s authenticity lends to its great success. “This tournament is authentic in the fact that Mezquite isn’t making any money off it,” Villar said “With this tournament, every dollar goes back to the students.”
Villar alluded to the price negotiation that goes on before the tournament begins. “The committee works with the golf course to lower the cost per team, and that extra savings means another scholarship for a student,” he said. “I think the participants see that.”
The tournament also has a photo booth on the green where golfers can commemorate their experience in a fun way. Bermudez receives donated prizes every year totaling more than $5,000 that he raffles off throughout the day and during the dinner banquet at the end of the night. Anyone at the tournament can buy raffle tickets (one for $10 or six for $50) for their chance to win everything from coolers, TVs, monitors, gaming systems, tablets, barbeque grills, bicycles, tents, and much more.
“Every year, the prizes are a little different and all the money raised from raffle ticket sales goes into the scholarship fund,” Bermudez said. “Last year, we made an extra $10,000 in raffle ticket sales.” Over the years, winners have taken home specialty items including a baseball mitt-shaped chair, an R2-D2 cooler, and a tandem bike – just to name a few.
Each fall, $1,000 scholarships are awarded to 15 current UNM students who are proficient in the Spanish language and demonstrate leadership and commitment to advancing the intercultural exchange among students on campus. Students must be enrolled at UNM for the previous spring semester, have a 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA, and demonstrate financial need.
Bermudez equates the success of the tournament with the help he gets from a volunteer team made up of UNM Student Affairs staff, students, and previous Mezquite scholarship recipients. “I couldn’t do this tournament without these people,” he said.
“It is truly a gift that a business and community leader like Sergio has focused his energy and resources on scholarships stewarded by the Division of Student Affairs,” said Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Eric Scott. “I know that countless students and staff at UNM feel a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for him and his work.”
This year’s tournament will be held on Friday, Aug. 2 at Isleta Golf Course. To learn more or to apply for the El Mezquite Scholarship, visit the College Enrichment Program’s scholarship page.
