Oklahoma State University is synonymous with some of the most popular Bermudagrass varieties in golf and sports turf.
The university recently unveiled its new Lionel K. Bentley Turfgrass Center.
The facility comprises 100 acres that previously was the site of the Education Resource Center at The Botanic Garden. The center will support turfgrass research and breeding initiatives, workshops and field days.
Many of the world’s most popular Bermudagrass varieties were developed by Oklahoma State breeders, including grasses like Tahoma 31, Latitude 36, Northbridge, Patriot, Riviera and Yukon.
Championships contested on Oklahoma State turfgrasses include the Olympics, PGA Championship, World Cup and the Super Bowl.
“The Turfgrass Center represents a major step forward for OSU’s turfgrass research, teaching and extension programs,” Jayson Lusk, vice president and dean of OSU Agriculture, said in a release on the OSU turf website. “It provides a centralized space where faculty, students and industry partners can come together to collaborate, learn and advance the science of turfgrass management.”
The center’s namesake, Lionel Bentley, earned in a degree in agronomy Oklahoma State in 1970. He retired from the City of Norman Parks and Recreation Department in 1984 to start Bentley Turf Farms in his hometown of Washington, south of Norman and Oklahoma City.
Bentley also developed Gracemont Bermudagrass as well as a variety of turf-type tall fescue and was instrumental in bringing standards like Myer and El Toro zoysiagrasses to customers in Oklahoma.
The center is part of a major fundraising and facilities-improvement initiative at Oklahoma State. Part of that initiative includes a donation from Bentley’s widow, Lou Bentley.
“I wanted to honor Lionel with something of a permanent nature – an honor that would stand up to the incredible person he was, and that his name and life would be honored, but not forgotten, and that exemplified his love for his life’s work,” she said. “Lionel K. Bentley Turfgrass Center – A dream come true.”
In other news, Oklahoma State faculty members Mingying Xiang, Ph.D., and Shuhao Yu, Ph.D., received federal funding for new turfgrass-related research projects, bringing more than $1 million in research funding to the program.
