The 25th Annual Delta Scholarship Golf Classic raised more than $27,000 and resulted in 11 students receiving scholarships for 2025-26.

The students are all crop science majors in U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Since 2000, the tournament has funded 240 scholarships and raised $556,450.71, including this year's total of $27,125.73.

Held July 17 at The Ridges at Village Creek at Village Creek State Park in Wynne, the event is annually coordinated by friends, alumni, faculty and staff from the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, which houses the crop science program.

Darrin Malone, southern technical agronomist with AMVAC, once again served as tournament director. Robby Rorie, research operations lead at the CORTEVA Agriscience Research Facility in West Memphis, and department head Paul DeLaune were co-directors.

"This was my first year to be involved with the Delta Golf Classic after hearing about the success of the tournament over the years, and experiencing the Classic first-hand did not disappoint," DeLaune said. "The number of volunteers who show up every year to make the event a success is quite impressive. It's astounding the number of scholarships this event has provided, and I appreciate this year's recipients and their families making the effort to attend the Classic to be recognized and express their appreciation."

Blair Baxley, Pocahontas; Charles Carey, Marion; Jack Erwin, Jonesboro; Marshall Fant, Martin, Tennessee; Natalie Jordan, Paragould; Lawson Petrus, Carlisle; and Randa Rhoades, Waldron, all received Delta Classic Scholarships.

Brick Fox, Gillett; Luke Walker, Fayetteville; Gaston Fletcher, Scott; and Kelby Lassiter, West Memphis, all received James L. Barrentine Endowed Scholarships. Barrentine is former head of the department, then the Department of Agronomy.

Corporate sponsors for the tournament were Arkansas Farm Bureau, BASF, Bayer CropScience, CORTEVA Agriscience, FMC Corp. and U of A Soil Fertility.

Winners of the 27-team tournament were:

• Flight A, Ag Council of Arkansas (Andrew Grobmyer, Drew Higginbothom, Bradshaw Lewis, Steven Rice)
• Flight B, Mid-South Ag Equipment (Chase Kagen, William Hutchens, Garland Melton, Justin Chalpecka)
• Flight C, Pirani Farms (Dennis Pirani, Charlie Farr, Chuck Farr, Frank McCarty)

Hole sponsors were Ag Council of Arkansas, Ag Heritage Farm Credit Services, AMVAC, Greenway Equipment, Producers Rice Mill, Riceland Foods Foundation and U of A's CSES department.

"(The tournament is) important to me, since the U of A and the CSES department helped shape me in my career and gave me the tools to allow me to find success in my career," Malone said. "Our sponsors and volunteers have been the backbone of this tournament, which is greatly appreciated, since we couldn't do the tournament without their participation."

Team sponsors included Ag Heritage Farm Credit Services, Albaugh, Cross Bank, Edwards Jones, Gowan USA, Horizon Ag, MFA/Cache River Valley Seed, Mid-South Ag Equipment, Momentum Ag, The National Conservancy, Pirani Farms, RiceTec, Syngenta, U of A rice agronomy and U of A weed science.

"I want to sincerely thank Darrin Malone for his dedication and leadership over the past 25 years," Rorie said. "His commitment has helped shape this tournament into a cornerstone of support for CSES students."

"It's a tremendous honor to step into the role of tournament director for an event that means so much to our department and our students," Rorie said. "As a former student myself, I know firsthand how impactful these scholarships can be."

Students wishing to apply for future Delta Classic scholarships should complete the Bumpers College scholarship application between Jan. 1-Feb. 15 and list their major as crop science or environmental, soil and water science.

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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 $3 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 few 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 and Economic Development News.