Teeing off a new tradition with UC’s Ed Latessa Memorial Golf Outing

To understand the importance of the event, one has to travel back in time to 1999, when beloved Criminal Justice school director Ed Latessa invited faculty and staff from the school, graduate students and their families to celebrate the end of the academic year with him at Reeves Golf Course (by Lunken Airport) for 18 holes. There were floral Hawaiian shirts aplenty; there was also lots of subpar golf at what Latessa came to call “the Potato Patch” (he broke his club on the first hole with an overpowered swing). But winning was hardly a priority. The day ended with a large picnic, and an annual tradition was born.

Tragically, Latessa passed away in early 2022 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. The university, college and school mourned the loss of the iconic criminologist, and colleagues attempted to keep the golf tradition, which had struggled to rebound after COVID-19 lockdowns.

“I grew up coming to this every year – to the barbeque and the picnic part,” says Latessa’s daughter Allie. She donned one of her father’s floral shirts to this year’s golf outing, where she played on a team with her sister, Amy. “He loved it. Every year, he would make us come. We’d be like, ‘We don’t want to go!’ but he’d be like, ‘No, you’ve gotta come and eat!’ He just loved it. UC was a family to him, so of course he extended that to us.”

Ian Silver, Christopher D'Amato and Eric Willoughby walk Glenview Golf Course in Hawaiian shirts, the favored golf attire of Ed Latessa. Photo/CECH Marketing

“This is the first time we’ve done it as a memorial and as a fundraiser,” says School of Criminal Justice director J.C. Barnes. “And of course we’ve made it in honor of Ed Latessa. He loved coming out to the golf event every year with a really annoying Hawaiian shirt and a bunch of really cheap cigars. We’re hoping to raise a lot of money for students.”

“With the establishment of the fund, we thought that would be a good way to preserve or memorialize the legacy of Ed while also doing the thing he liked to do,” says associate professor Josh Cochran, who first conceptualized the golf outing as a particularly fun fundraising opportunity. “The first tournament I played in … Ed looked at me and wondered if I was going to be very good. He teed off, then waited to watch me tee off, watched me shank the ball right into the woods. And he said, ‘Oh, we’re going to be fine.’”

The inaugural event was a rousing success, with Sabine Flessa from the University of Cincinnati Foundation reporting 45 attendees – a three-fold increase over previous years – and a total of more than $7,000 to support the academic endeavors and associated expenses of doctoral students enrolled in the Criminal Justice program. And organizers are already looking forward to next year’s outing, which they envision being bigger and better. Cochran hopes that undergraduate students join in on the fun in coming years, too.

But the event’s biggest success? The golf outing, with its food, fun and floral shirts, was a day of true camaraderie and celebration that captured Latessa’s love for the School of Criminal Justice community.

“It’s so nice,” says Allie. “He would love this.” 

Featured image at top of 2024 golf outing. Photo provided by CECH Marketing.  

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University of Cincinnati's School of Criminal Justice is committed to offering a comprehensive range of degree programs to help students build a successful career in the dynamic field of criminal justice. The top-ranked school is home to highly experienced faculty, impactful research centers and exciting study abroad opportunities that continue to make a positive impact on the world.