Bret Bielema to Headline Hall of Fame Golf Tournament

New University of Arkansas head football coach Bret Bielema will headline the 15^th annual Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame Celebrity Golf Classic, which will be held Monday, May 20, at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock.

On the evening of Sunday, May 19, Bielema will speak during the “Talking Football” dinner in Chenal Country Club’s St. Andrews Ballroom. The dinner will begin at 6 p.m.

Tables of 10 for the “Talking Football” dinner are $2,000. For the Monday golf tournament, the cost is $2,000 for a four-member team. Each team will be paired with a celebrity. A combination dinner table and golf team is $3,500.

Those desiring to enter teams and purchase dinner tickets should call the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame at (501) 663-4328.

On May 20, lunch for golfers will be served at 11:30 a.m. with a 1 p.m. tee time. Awards will be presented following the tournament.

The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame Celebrity Golf Classic long has been one of the premier sports events in the state, featuring past inductees into the Hall of Fame and other sports celebrities. A number of past inductees already have committed to play in this year’s tournament. The proceeds from the May events will benefit the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.

The official hotel of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame is the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel in North Little Rock. Out-of-town guests needing room reservations should call (501) 371-9000.

Bielema was named as the head coach at Arkansas in early December. He has taken the state by storm since then with his outgoing personality and his sense of confidence. As head coach at the University of Wisconsin, Bielema had a 68-24 record and took the Badgers to three consecutive Rose Bowls.

Several members of Bielema’s coaching staff will join him for the Celebrity Golf Classic.

The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inducted its first claass in 1959. The Class of 2013 was inducted in March at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock with more than 1,000 people in attendance at the induction banquet.

Ray Tucker is the executive director of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette sports editor Wally Hall is the organization’s president.

The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame Museum on the west side of Verizon Arena is open each Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. It includes an 88-seat theater with a video highlighting the careers of Arkansas sports greats along with a touch-screen kiosk with a database of all Hall of Fame inductees.

Dues-paying members of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame vote each year on inductees. Membership forms can be obtained by going to the organization’s website at www.arksportshalloffame.com.