Hillsdale College established the Matt Suggs USA Shooting Travel Award on Feb. 9 to help students pay for travel and competition in Olympic-qualifying shooting events.

“The college established the Matt Suggs Travel Award in his memory to further enhance our programs, which not only train young athletes in shooting sports but also promote the principles of the U.S. Constitution,” said Hillsdale College Chief Administrative Officer Rich Péwé in a press release.

Suggs was originally a rifle shooter for the USA shooting team, according to Hillsdale College shotgun coach  Caitlin Connor-Royer. He was the CEO of USA Shooting from 2020 until his death in December of 2022.

“Matt Suggs started working closely with Hillsdale College to establish a good foundation here,” Connor-Royer said. “We’ve been hosting the Junior Rifle Olympic Championships here, and now we have the Shotgun Junior Olympics and Shotgun Nationals here. I know Matt had a lot to do with getting that stuff going.”

The award will help students to compete in international shooting competitions.

“The College wants us to be able to go to as many competitions as possible, even if it’s not in our budget to go,” senior Ida Brown said.

Brown competed in an international trap shotgun competition in Azerbaijan in 2022, and paid for the trip with assistance from Hillsdale. Brown said she still had to start fundraising as soon as she found out that she would not be receiving financial assistance from the U.S. National team.

The total cost is on average about $5,000 per competition.

“The competitions are normally international, and very expensive,” Brown said. “Then you add coaching fees, hotel fees, entry fees, and it really adds up.”

The U.S. National team for shooting competitions consists of five shooters, the top three of which get full funding from the team. All five are able to attend the competition, gain experience, and win world ranking points which qualify shooters for the Olympics.

“Shooting in fourth or fifth place positions allows a younger shooter to experience what it’s like to compete at a high level, but it also gets them what’s called world ranking points,” said Hillsdale College shotgun coach Dale Royer. “There’s a requirement that you have to have obtained a world ranking position and then have competed overseas before being eligible for the Olympics.”

There are eight world cups and two world championships shooters can qualify for each year.

“It’s a lot of travel, but it’s a great experience for the shooters,” Connor-Royer said. “This scholarship is specifically set aside to better the athletes and hopefully get them on the Olympic stage.”

The college’s shooting program has been expanding, and shooters Joshua Corbin, Jordan Sapp, and Brown have each shot at an international competition in the past year.

“We’re recruiting more and more shooters that are performing at the level that they need to be to get these opportunities,” Royer said. “We’re able to help them out and get them on their feet and make sure that they’re getting the experience that they need.”