Agriculture

MILITARY RODEO COWBOY HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR 2024

Published

8 months ago

March 18, 2024

Haleigh

PHOTO CREDIT: MILITARY RODEO COWBOY HALL OF FAME

Military Rodeo Cowboy Hall Of Fame announced 2024 scholarship opportunities.

Eligibility criteria are directed toward family members of veterans who are interested in rodeo, ranching, farming, sports marketing, or museum studies.

The Military Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame is establishing a scholarship award program starting in 2024 to show support for veteran families and the Western lifestyle.

Military Rodeo Cowboy Hall Of Fame intends to provide multiple scholarship grants to qualified applicants during the Summer of 2024, in time for use during Fall classes (September 2024 target).

The scholarship awards will vary in size from $500 to $2500 and will be for tuition, books, and school fees.

HOW TO QUALIFY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS

Minimum requirements for awards are:

1. Applicant meets the following:

Parent or Grandparent is an honorably discharged veteran (DD214 or NG22 for parent/grandparent must be submitted as proof of service along with proof of relationship to veteran. Note: mask/black out any personal information on form such as social security number, phone number and home address before submitting.). OR
Spouse and children of current active duty, reserve, or national guard members (Spouse or dependent children should submit DEERS Eligibility Verification or Enrollment documentation as proof of status. Note: mask/black out any personal information on form such as social security number, phone number and home address before submitting.) OR
Spouse and children of military members Killed in Action or Missing in Action are also eligible. (Spouse or dependent children should submit verification documentation as proof of status. Note: mask/black out any personal information on form such as social security number, phone number and home address before submitting.)

Applicants must meet this requirement AND:

2. High School applicants must have competed in a recognized youth rodeo association (AJRA, NLBRA, etc.) or the National High School Rodeo Association or been actively involved in 4-H, Future Farmers of America (FFA), or other farm and ranch-focused organizations. (Documentation showing participation in the above activities must be provided with the application.)

3. Applicant may be an Undergraduate or Graduate student who currently or previously competed in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) (must submit proof of competing) OR is majoring in one of the following degree programs and meets the requirements of 1 above:

Agriculture related program
Veterinary Science program
Sports Marketing or Management
Museum Studies or Management

Undergraduate and graduate students must submit transcripts showing major course work.

4. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 2.9. High School and college students must provide a copy of their current transcripts.

5. The applicant must show financial need by submitting a previous tax year Form 1040/1040A/1040EZ for themselves or a parent if a dependent is still claimed on the tax form. Note: Before submitting, mask/black out any personal information on the form, such as social security number, phone number, and home address.

6. Complete and submit a 500-word essay in your own words detailing why military service and support of the western lifestyle is important to the applicant and the country

7. Undergraduate and Graduate students may apply for follow on funding under this program each year if they meet the requirements of a-c above. Returning applicants must also submit a 500-word essay in their own words describing how their current course of study can promote military service and the western lifestyle

NOTE: Military Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame directors, trustees, officers, senior managers, scholarship selection committee or their family members are NOT eligible for scholarship awards under this program. In addition to these prohibited individuals, individual donors reported on the Hall of Fame IRS Form 990, Schedule B and their family members are also ineligible for scholarship awards under this program. (Note that for these purposes, “family members” include spouses or domestic partners, siblings, children, and grandchildren, as well as spouses or domestic partners of siblings, children, and grandchildren)

Non-U.S. Citizens are also ineligible for scholarship awards under this program.

SCHOLARSHIP AWARD CRITERIA

Applications will be scored by our selection committee using the following criteria:

All applications will be reviewed by the Hall of Fame Scholarship Award Committee, evaluated, and scored with the scholarships awarded based on the total score received by each applicant. The number and amount of each award will be determined by the selection committee as set forth annually by the Hall of Fame Executive Board of Directors. Scoring will be as follows:

1. Minimum qualifications for award are met – 20 points.

2. Spouse or dependent of a military member killed in action or declared missing in action (additional documentation to substantiate will be required) – 15 points.

3. Financial need based on previous tax year gross adjusted income from Form 1040/1040A/1040EZ (form must be submitted with Personally Identifiable Information {social security number, phone number, and street address, masked/blacked out}) – 1 to maximum of 20 points based on sliding scale of Federal Adjusted Gross Income from 1040/1040A/1040EZ minus 200% of Federal Poverty Level as indicated at: https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines

Example: AGI = $45,000 and number of people in household is 3. FPL for 3 is $25,000 * 200% = $50,000. $45,000-$50,000 = ($5,000)

4. Participation in 4-H, Future Farmers of America (FFA), or other farm and ranch-focused organizations—10 points.

Held a leadership position in one of these organizations – 5 points.

5. Participation in rodeo related programs and associations – 10 points.

Held a leadership position in a rodeo related program or association – 5 points.

6. Course of study (major) as an undergraduate or graduate student in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Sports Marketing or Museum Studies (transcript must be provided) – 10 points.

7. Participant in Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC, High School, or College level) (documentation of participation must be provided)– 5 points.

8. Spouse or dependent of current Active-Duty military member – 10 points.

9. Current GPA over 3.5 – 5 points

10. Essay evaluation – 1 to maximum of 100 points (500 words, relevancy, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and plagiarism verification will be used to score this essay)

All submissions, including supporting documentation, must be received by the Hall of Fame between March 1st and May 31st of each year.

Submissions will be submitted via the application form below.

APPLY NOW: www.mrchof.com/scholarships

For any questions or concerns contact: [email protected]

APPLICATION DEADLINE: MAY 31, 2024

ABOUT MILITARY RODEO COWBOY HALL OF FAME

The Military Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame aims to establish a sports hall of fame to honor significant achievements and/or contributions by individuals in the sport of military rodeo.

Inductees can be a Contestant, Stock Contractor, Contract Personnel, Rodeo Producer, Rodeo Committee Member, or other Notable that has significant achievements in or made a significant contribution to the advancement of military rodeo.

Inductees must have been a member of the United States Armed Forces as active duty, retired, active/inactive reserve or Guard component or dependent of these units and competed in military rodeos verified and approved by the Board of Directors.

Stock Contractors, Contract Acts, Rodeo Committees, Rodeo Promoters, and other Notables may not have to meet these requirements; however, they must have made significant contributions to military rodeos to be considered.

Members of the Armed Forces with less than an Honorable discharge are ineligible for consideration. Verification of service by inductees shall be completed prior to induction.

The Military Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization and any revenues it collects or disburses shall be used for the sole purpose of the stated purpose.

It was established as a 501(c)(3) corporation on August 27th, 2018.