Matt Sanderson Receives Par Excellence Award

The University of Utah's Alumni Association awarded Matthew T. Sanderson (Class of '05) with the Par Excellence Award. Given annually to former students who attended the University within the last 15 years, the award recognizes outstanding professional achievements, service to the community as well as to the University of Utah. An excerpt from the award posting lists Mr. Sanderson's impressive achievements:

"Sanderson is perhaps best known among college football fans as the lawyer who co-founded the Playoff PAC, a political action committee formed to lobby on behalf of a college football playoff. Playoff PAC was nominated in 2011 for Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year award for its work in bring down college football's unpopular former post-season system, the Bowl Championship Series.
 
While the Playoff PAC is impressive, it's only a side note compared to what Sanderson has accomplished in his career thus far. After earning his bachelor's degree from the U in 2005, he obtained his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 2008. After graduation, he headed to work in Washington, D.C., where he is a member in the Political Law Practice Group of Caplin & Drysdale, advising major corporations, political committees, and advocacy groups on campaign finance, ethics, and lobbying rules. He has served as general counsel for Senator Rand Paul's 2016 presidential campaign, outside counsel for Governor Rick Perry's presidential campaign, legal counsel for Mitt Romney's Commonwealth PAC, campaign finance counsel for Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, and general counsel for a government reform commission created by Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. Sanderson, along with the rest of The Colbert Team, received the Peabody Award in 2012 for efforts related to television personality Stephen Colbert's Super PAC.
 
Sanderson is also a lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law, where he teaches an advanced course on campaign finance regulation, and a trustee of the American Council of Young Political Leaders. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, Emily, and their four children."