Click here to watch a video of Watson Brown's comments Saturday during the Alumni Golf Classic

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Football coach Watson Brown and his staff welcomed several dozen former Golden Eagle players back to town Friday and Saturday for the annual Tennessee Tech Football Alumni Golf Classic, held at Cookeville Golf Club. Players from several decades of Tech football were on hand for the event, which culminated in a barbecue dinner and the awarding of dozens of prizes.

"This is neat for me because I gre up here, so the 50s and 60s guys, I was on the sidelines for their games," Brown said. "The memories of that bunch, and being on the sidelines, is really special, and getting to see that bunch is really neat to me. The neat thing about being a coach isn't the wins and losses, it's the relationships and the kids when they come back to see you."

While Brown and his staff enjoyed seeing and visiting with the former players, all lot of the work in coordiating the event was handled by former players, headed by Tom Pemberton.

"It takes a lot of people to get this done, and it's all run by the former players," Brown said. "We don't do this. We help them and do all we can to help. This isn't our team or the athletic department putting this on. Larry (Schreiber) started this many years ago and they've given great money to a scholarship now that we're getting really close on. This is truly neat because they run the whole show. Tom Pemberton's in charge of it now after taking it over for Larry. To see these guys put this all together, this is what I really like about it."

The staff enjoyed a day of fellowship before getting down to the business of working toward winning the 2011 Ohio Valley Conference championship. Tech opens the season on Saturday, Sept. 3, at the University of Iowa. The home opener is Thursday night, Sept. 8, against Maryville College.

Season tickets are on sale through the Athletic Ticket Office in Eblen Center, or by calling (931) 372-3940. Tickets may also be ordered online at TTUsports.com or by clicking here.

Click here to view additional photos, including a group shot of each of the tournament foursomes.

Some random photos from Saturday's golf tournament: