The NCAA Basketball Tournament tips off this week, but U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences has created a different bracket competition.

The Bumpers College Bracket Buffet is a tournament full of select food qualifiers. Everyone is welcome to participate in voting for their favorite in head-to-head matchups leading to the Final Feast and then the Dominant Dish as the winner.

Teams are divided into four regions: proteins, carbs/grains, vegetables and desserts, but the Bracket Buffet begins with the first course appetizer round.

Voting takes place on the college's Instagram and Twitter accounts (@BumpersCollege) on the following dates:

• March 15: First Round Appetizer Round (one winner, does not advance to main bracket)
• March 16-19: Second Round (proteins March 16, carbs/grain March 17, vegetables March 18, desserts March 19)
• March 23-24: Third Round (proteins & carbs/grain March 23; vegetables & desserts March 24)
• March 27-28: Fourth Round (proteins & carbs/grain March 27; vegetables & desserts March 28)
• March 30: Final Feast
• March 31: Dominant Dish (winning food item)

Voting for each round will be enabled for 24-hour periods, beginning approximately at 10 a.m.

A full bracket, which will be updated with winning vote totals following each round, is available on the Bumpers College homepage.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.