Buckeyes Part of Another Elite Field at the 2025 Folds of Honor Collegiate
8/6/2025 10:56:00 AM | Men's Golf, Women's Golf
GRAND HAVEN, Mich. - The fourth annual Folds of Honor Collegiate will be hosted September 7-10 at Jack Nicklaus-designed American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Michigan. This year's tournament features 15 men's teams and 12 women's teams, with a field made up of elite Division I and II talent, the Service Academies, and two HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges & Universities). After being the most watched college tournament of the season, Golf Channel will again broadcast the Collegiate live over 18 hours.
The Folds of Honor Collegiate is not only the most watched, but also the most important and most impactful, as it raises awareness and funds for Folds of Honor and its mission to provide educational scholarships to the children and spouses of fallen or disabled military and first responders. The 2025 Collegiate field is a shining example of this impact. There are 21 different colleges and universities representing the 27 teams in the combined field. Since the 2007 inception of Folds of Honor, there have been 3,792 students attend these schools on a Folds of Honor scholarship, with an educational impact of almost $17.5 million.
Folds of Honor is currently in the process of extending scholarship offers for the 2025-26 academic year. But for the 2024-25 academic year, 730 Folds of Honor recipients attended the 21 schools in this year's Collegiate field, with a combined impact of over $3.3 million.
The 54-hole event will broadcast live and rebroadcast on Golf Channel, as well as simulcast on both Peacock and Golf Channel's digital platforms.
Michelob ULTRA will again serve this year as a Presenting Sponsor and will be joined by additional tournament broadcast partners Sinclair Oil, Sedgwick, Titleist, and Compliance Solutions. Michelob ULTRA joined the Collegiate family in 2024, as part of Anheuser-Busch's longstanding support for Folds of Honor. Since 2011, Anheuser-Busch, its brands and wholesaler partners have donated $33 million to provide life-changing educational scholarships to the families of fallen or disabled US military service members and first responders.
"To play for something bigger than yourself, or even your team, truly sets this tournament apart from any other," said Lt Col Dan Rooney, founder and CEO of Folds of Honor.
"The Folds of Honor Collegiate is a powerful event," added Rooney, who was a standout college golfer at Kansas, and is history's only fighter pilot to also be a PGA Golf Professional. "With 18 hours of live coverage on Golf Channel, this event has become the most-watched college golf tournament of the season. Our mission to support the families of fallen or disabled military and first responders, the teams that compete, and the academic support we provide to the schools participating, make this tournament truly special. As the tournament leads into the anniversary of 9/11, we are reminded of the sacrifices made for our freedom, and this event stands as a reverent tribute to the spirit of God, country, and golf. We are deeply grateful for the support of Michelob ULTRA as our Presenting Sponsor, highlighting our longstanding partnership with Anheuser-Busch, and to all of our corporate partners that are making a life-changing difference."
The 2025 Folds of Honor Collegiate is co-hosted by Michigan State and Florida State, and the field will feature some of the elite college teams in the country. This includes 19 teams that were represented at the 2025 NCAA Regionals, eight that advanced to the NCAA Championships, and 13 that ended the Spring ranked in the top 30 in the country.
The teams that qualified for their 2025 NCAA Division I or II Regional are led by 2025 NCAA Championship qualifiers Florida State (men & women), Michigan State (men & women), Kansas (men & women), California (men), Florida A&M (men), Baylor (women), North Carolina (women), Ohio State (women), Texas A&M (women), Naval Academy (women), Grand Valley State (Division II men), and Findlay (Division II women). Also making the NCAA Regionals were defending Folds of Honor Collegiate team champions Alabama (men) and Arizona (women), as well as Notre Dame (men), winners of the 2023 Collegiate.
The Air Force Academy, Army, and Naval Academy represent the service academies on the men's side, while Navy will field a team on the women's side. Florida A&M, who won the program's first SWAC Men's Golf Championship in April, will join the men's field for the second time in three years, while the Delaware State women, under the leadership of former Black College Golf Coaches Association (BCGCA) President Craig Bowen, is one of eight programs making their Folds of Honor Collegiate debut. Division II Findlay is another after earning a spot by winning the Women's 2024 Folds of Honor Challenge.Â
"The Folds of Honor Collegiate is so much more than just a golf tournament," Florida State Head Coaches Amy Bond and Trey Jones said. "Golf is secondary to remembering those who have sacrificed so much, and helping their families. We have had 215 Folds of Honor recipients attend Florida State, and we are truly honored to once again co-host this great tournament with Michigan State. This year we have assembled an elite field filled with eight teams who made it to the NCAA Championships last year, and 19 of the 27 teams were represented in an NCAA Regional. This is always an event we highlight on our schedule, and we cannot wait to kick off the new season at American Dunes."
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Michigan State Men's Golf Coach Casey Lubahn was part of the first conversations between Lt Col Rooney and the Golf Coaches Association of America about creating the Folds of Honor Collegiate. He is proud, along with Spartans Women's Golf Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, to see how the event has grown so quickly.
"It is amazing to see the development of the Folds of Honor Collegiate, as we enter this fourth year," Lubahn said. "Both programs here at Michigan State University are so grateful to Folds of Honor, American Dunes, the GCAA, and HNS Sports for all they have done to continually elevate this event and give our student-athletes and coaches a unique and memorable experience. We are also thankful to all those who have tuned in to Golf Channel and been on-site to support the competing teams. When we started, we wanted to make this event the most impactful event in collegiate golf, and I truly believe we have done just that. We look forward to honoring America's heroes by supporting their legacy and showcasing the best of collegiate athletics once again this September."
"The GCAA is proud to be an early partner with Folds of Honor to raise awareness and funds for its mission of providing academic scholarships to the families of fallen or disabled service members and first responders," said Dustin Roberts, CEO of the GCAA. "Holding the Collegiate at American Dunes, the birthplace of Folds of Honor, walking through the Memorial, and pausing play during taps at 1300 hours are all powerful reminders of sacrifice and the hope we can all provide through education."
This year's Folds of Honor Collegiate features a College-Am and Welcome Party on Sunday, Sept. 7, and spots are still available. Each team will also carry an Honor Bag tag during the Collegiate, representing the Folds of Honor recipients at each of their schools since the inception of Folds of Honor.
Below are the 27 teams competing in the 2025 Folds of Honor Collegiate:Â
*-indicates team was represented at the 2025 NCAA Div. I or II Golf Regionals or advanced to the NCAA Championships
+-indicates defending Folds of Honor Collegiate team champions
- Air Force
- Alabama*+
- Army
- BaylorÂ
- California*
- Cincinnati*
- Florida A&M*Â
- Florida State*
- Grand Valley State*
- Kansas*
- Michigan State*
- Missouri
- Navy
- Notre Dame*
- Ohio State
WOMEN:
- Arizona*+Â
- Baylor*Â
- Delaware State
- Findlay*
- Florida State*
- Kansas*
- Kentucky
- Michigan State*Â
- Navy*
- North Carolina*Â Â
- Ohio State*Â
- Texas A&M*
About Folds of HonorÂ
Folds of Honor is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of US military service members and first responders who have fallen or been disabled while serving our country and communities. Our educational scholarships support private school tuition or tutoring in grades K-12, tuition for college, technical or trade school and post-graduate work, including a master's degree, doctorate, or professional program. Funds for a second bachelor's degree or trade/technical program certification are also available. Since its inception in 2007, Folds of Honor has awarded nearly 62,000 scholarships totaling about $290 million in all 50 states. Among the students served, 45 percent are minorities. A total of 91 percent of expenses fund our mission of providing educational scholarships to the families of our nation's heroes. It is rated a four-star charity by Charity Navigator and Platinum on Candid. It was founded by Lt Col Dan Rooney, the only-ever F-16 fighter pilot (with three combat tours in Iraq) and PGA Professional. He is serving as Commander of Recruiting for the Oklahoma Air Guard. For more information or to donate in support of a Folds of Honor scholarship visit foldsofhonor.org.
About American Dunes
In 2006, the Grand Haven Golf Club hosted a small golf tournament that would inspire the founding of Folds of Honor. The Grand Haven Golf Club closed in 2018 and a limited group of patriots joined together with Jack Nicklaus to create American Dunes. Nicklaus led the project by donating his design fee, a group of 18 individuals sponsored one hole each, and five private investors joined together to preserve the birthplace of Folds of Honor. The mission of American Dunes is unwavering; to raise awareness and funds for the families of fallen or disabled military service members and first responders. Since the facility opened in May 2021, over $5.5 million from profits have been donated back to Folds of Honor to provide life-changing educational scholarships.
In 2022, the annual Folds of Honor Collegiate was first contested with 18 men's teams. In 2024, the Collegiate welcomed a women's field to better reflect the mission at Folds of Honor.
"American Dunes represents a collaboration of countless likeminded patriots, who want this golf course to forever stand as a tribute to the birthplace of Folds of Honor, a safe haven for veterans who find rehabilitation through the recreation of the game, and a backdrop to celebrate our country and those who fought for its freedom," Lt Col Rooney said. "A significant legacy such as this is born out of the effort of selfless individuals and companies who have donated their time and resources."
