In the early hours of June 1, barbecue smoke filled the air above the University of Incarnate Word athletic facilities as tailgaters filled the parking lots. In just a few hours, almost 8,000 corporate employees from 83 San Antonio businesses would relive their athletic glory days for what San Antonio Sports President and CEO Jenny Carnes calls “the very best company picnic for local businesses.”
Held annually by San Antonio Sports since 2012, Corporate Cup has become an event with something for everyone.
The festivities began on April 13 with the Whataburger 5k, which had recently been moved to before the big day to provide for the scale of the event. New this year, however, the 5k was held in conjunction with Fiesta FitFest, San Antonio Sports’ health and wellness take on the tradition of Fiesta.
The preparation for Corporate Cup began for many teams long before the event. It’s an event that, according to Kimberly Crinklaw, community coordinator at Chicken ‘n Pickle, employees look forward to all year.
“Participating on the Corporate Cup team is one of the most coveted roles throughout the year for our staff. They really look forward to it and it’s a highlight for all of them. They all scramble to get a spot on one of the teams, and they absolutely love it.”
It’s not just a scramble to sign up, though. For some teams it’s also a scramble to make sure they’re ready. Daniel Holguin, human resources officer at Frost Bank, detailed how serious his team is when it comes to Corporate Cup, even starting practices as early as February.
“We have a dedicated Corporate Cup committee formed by the captains of each event. These captains play an important role because they are responsible for organizing and hosting practice to select our teams, ensuring that each employee is well prepared for their event, and providing all necessary details for game day. Our teams take their practices very seriously with some teams practicing once a week for their events.”
In the weeks leading up to Corporate Cup, the events started to shift into gear. The RBFCU T-Shirt Contest commenced on May 1, with each team submitting a t-shirt design that their team would wear on the big day and competed for the best design in each division. Victoria Young, senior marketing communication specialist at RBFCU, talked about what it means to her team to sponsor the challenge.
“This is a chance for every organization to show their creativity and do so in a fun and competitive way. We might be a little biased, we always think our design is the best, but we do love seeing that creative outpour from our corporate counterparts and then also the community engagement in the voting.”
The Chicken ‘n Pickle Pickleball Tournament really kicked things off on May 28, and the night before the big day, the University Health 3v3 Basketball Tournament preliminary rounds and CPS Energy 3-Point Contest got the blood pumping for what was to come the next morning. Held off-site at the Mission Concepción Sports Park, the final round of the 3v3 tournament is held the next day on the UIW home court.
One other big event encompassing the buildup to Corporate Cup was the Charity Challenge. The Charity Challenge gives San Antonio Sports, a non-profit, the unique opportunity to support other local non-profits. The challenge raised over $100,000 for Boys & Girls Club of San Antonio, Haven for Hope and San Antonio Sports, 286,000 meals provided for San Antonio Food Bank and 10,000 blood donations for South Texas Blood & Tissue and University Health Blood Donor Services.
Even as the excitement builds for the upcoming sporting events, the Charity Challenge proves a big part of Corporate Cup for many participants, like Young.
“One of the things that I personally love seeing is just how excited everyone gets when the Charity Challenge starts at the outpour of donations that come from our team here at RBFCU.”
When the morning of Corporate Cup arrived, teams were ready. Barbecues had begun, tailgates were being set up and beers were being cracked open. When asked what they were most looking forward to, most were excited to meet new co-workers and bond with old ones. The word most used was “camaraderie.”
Ashley Harris of PNC Bank remarked, “Because we have so many branches all over San Antonio, it’s not often our team members get together. This is a great time for them to come out, meet each other, not only network amongst themselves, but network with all the other companies and just have a blast.”
But while there’s plenty of lounging in the sun, it wasn’t just fun and games when the Gonzaba 2k Walk commenced the competition.
There was one other answer that proved most popular. City of San Antonio Employee Wellness Manager David Whitt said it best. “Winning.” When teams dug in for the Security Service FCU Tug-of-War, it was clear most people felt that way. Teeth were gritted, droves of teammates screamed, and when the command was given, competitors pulled with all their might to out-grapple their opponents.
That intensity, although expressed in different ways, could be seen throughout the day’s events, from the NuStar Energy Golf Chipping contest to the Broadway Bank Dodgeball games.
As things wound down, the stands filled with onlookers for the final event of the day, the SwRI 4×100-meter relay. Runners lined the track to close out the day. Batons flew around the track, soles came off shoes, and neck-and-neck sprints down the home stretch were met with cheers from the crowd.
When the final heat of the relay crossed the line, the events were over, but the competition wasn’t quite done. The desire to win seen in tug-of-war filled the air as teams crowded around for the awards ceremony. Only one team from each division could take home the Corporate Cup and bragging rights.
Thus, it only made sense when the Glazers Beer and Beverage team, winners of Division Three, met their names being called with an outburst of cheers, excitement and drinking of beer from the trophy.
Similar excitement showed as the winners of the four other divisions were announced. Movement Mortgage won Division Five, PwC won Division Four, Glazers Beer and Beverage were the Division Three champions, Spurs Sports & Entertainment won Division Two and SwRI were crowned the Division One champions.
The 2025 Corporate Cup will return to UIW on May 31, much to the excitement of the San Antonio Sports staff. As Carnes remarks, “we LOVE this event.”
By Thomas Melina Raab