The Greensboro Sports Council announced Thursday, April 23 that the 2020 Fred Barakat Sports Dinner presented by The Carroll Companies scheduled for Wednesday, May 13 has been postponed for a year.
The event has currently been rescheduled for Monday, May 17, 2021 at the Greensboro Coliseum on the arena floor.
Since 2008, the Greensboro Sports Council has held an annual dinner, and in 2011 it was renamed in memory of Fred Barakat, the late associate commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The featured speaker for the 2020 event was Clemson University Football Coach Dabo Swinney, who has agreed to speak at the event in 2021. Swinney led the Clemson Tigers to two of the last four College Football Playoff national championships and won the national championship game in 2017 and 2019. Clemson under Swinney’s direction has appeared in four of the last five national championship games. Swinney took over as Clemson’s interim head football coach in 2008, before being named head coach in 2009. He has a record of 130-31 including 15 wins last season.
Swinney has taken teams to the Gator Bowl, Music City Bowl, Meineke Car Care Bowl, Orange Bowl, Chick-fil-A Bowl, Russell Athletic Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Cotton Bowl to name a few.
Funds raised by the dinner go to the Matt Brown Learn-to-Swim Endowment, which aims to teach every second-grade student in the Guilford County school system water safety skills. Brown is the long time manager of the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.
Swinney said, “I’m looking forward to speaking in Greensboro next spring to help raise money for a great cause and remember the life of Fred Barakat who did so much for ACC Basketball. I’ve heard a little about the Learn-to-Swim program this dinner benefits, and if my speaking at this event can help keep kids safe when they’re swimming, that’s a win for all of us.”
Barakat joined the ACC in 1981 as the supervisor of men’s basketball officials and for 16 years served as the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament Director.
Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan is the daughter of Barakat.
Founded in 1959, the Greensboro Sports Council is the official host organization for the Greensboro Coliseum Complex providing hospitality, resources and community interactions for events held at the Coliseum.
The Carroll Companies, the sponsor of this event, owns the Rhino Times.
