Dr. Clayton “Clay” Bolton joined the faculty in the department of business at LaGrange College in August of 2022. He and his family moved back home to Georgia after stops in Texas by way of South Carolina and Dr. Bolton is a proud three-time SEC veteran, having worked at the University of Georgia, Mississippi State, and the University of South Carolina. He reinvigorated the Recreation and Sport Management program at Southern Wesleyan University (SWU) in Central, SC before moving to Texas A&M University – Commerce, now East Texas A&M University. Since becoming a Lion (2015) Dr. Bolton built a solid undergraduate program in Sport and Recreation Management. He is most proud of the mentoring of students and assisting them in gaining access to volunteer, internship and entry-level opportunities in the field. Students like Alex Shillow (2019), Division II NCAA SACS President and current Associate Director of Development for athletics at Incarnate Word University, Zenobia Winbush (2016), Graphic Designer with the Dallas Cowboys, Terrol Ford (2019), Operations Manager with Insignia Event Services in Phoenix, Greyson Allen, Recruiter and Director of Internships with PEAK Sports Management in Plano, TX. Kirsten Boyd, who is a LC alumna and works with the Houston Dynamo of MLS. Cam Lyons, who graduated last year from LaGrange College, is working as a division I men’s basketball graduate assistant coach at Gardner Webb University in North Carolina. Parker Lovett, recently being named to the University of Alabama’s Women’s Basketball Staff and accepted to graduate school at BAMA. Dr. Bolton has published nationally and internationally, and he is most proud of his work on collegiate athletic facilities and NCAA Rules Compliance, currently serving as the co-editor of the Journal of NCAA Compliance. Bolton has worked with college students in a career expanding 30 plus years and has spent time in college athletics (NCAA Compliance), student affairs (multiple positions) and for the past 12 years has been a full-time faculty member.
Since joining the faculty at LC Dr. Bolton has taken students to work the Tournament Players Championship (TPC) in Pointe Vedra, Florida. He has worked alongside students at the Peach Bowl, the SEC Softball Championship at Auburn last year, the Tour Championship at East Lake, led a study abroad trip to England and Scotland last summer that included a stop at Wimbledon and the Open Championship, as well as a tour of St. Andrews. In the last few weeks, he has worked beside over 20 students at Atlanta Motor Speedway for a weekend of NASCAR, taken students to work the Super Bowl in New Orleans, and most recently worked with 5 students at the Men’s South Regional Basketball tournament in Atlanta at State Farm Arena. He has partnered with the new Minor league team, the Columbus Clingstones, and recently had three class projects this spring with the club. Experiential Learning is who he is and what he does!
Dr. Bolton was born in Augusta, Georgia, raised in the Central Savannah River area, and calls Aiken, SC his hometown. Dr. Bolton is married to the former Ann Jackson, from Athens, Georgia and she is a Vice President with Wells Fargo Advisers. The couple celebrates 30 years of marriage this upcoming July! The Bolton’s have two wonderful children, Fowler (25), an architect with Gensler Architecture Firm in Nashville, and daughter Wells (22), a Lagrange College graduate, with a degree in Nursing, and she has accepted a position in the OR at Grady Hospital. The family has two dogs, Ace (black lab) and Maggie (Australian Retriever), and one cat named Tuxedo. Clay is an avid golfer and the Bolton’s love movies, sports and participating in their Church, SouthSide in Newnan!
