The mission of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Alumni is simple:  promote college rodeo, preserve the history of college rodeo, and honor the accomplishments of collegiate contestants and alumni.  Renewing of friendships and having a lot of fun is part of the plan, too!

Alumni Hospitality Room in Las Vegas

You are all invited to a get together in Las Vegas during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Alumni want you to drop by the Monterey Bay Room at the South Point Hotel and Casino on Thursday, December 13th and get acquainted.
Were you a college cowboy or cowgirl back in the day? Are you a current contestant and want to meet some of those who blazed the way for you? Are you the parent of a youngster who loves rodeo? Do you want your children or grandchildren to get that all important college education? Did the opportunity to compete lure you into college and then you found out that college rodeo is fun, you met great people, had a great time, learned a few things and want those experiences for your kids and grandkids? Or maybe you would just like to hang out in Vegas with some folks you know will share your interests and enjoy your stories? Want to let your Visa card cool down for a while?
If you answered yes to any of the above, plan to come to the NIRAA Hospitality Room on Thursday afternoon, December 13, from 1 until 5. We would like to meet you. We think you share our love of college rodeo and we would like to let you know who we are and what we do. And what we do is support college rodeo, preserve college rodeo history and have a good time.

SOUTH POINT HOTEL AND CASINO:
9777 Las Vegas Blvd. South

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2012 FROM 1PM UNTIL 5 PM

A PLACE TO SIT AND VISIT

REFRESHMENTS, NO HOST BAR

NO RESERVATIONS, NO COST, JUST COME AND HANG OUT

Of course we would love for you to join our organization but mostly we just want to get the word out that this organization exists. We need your help to make sure that the tradition of college rodeo endures.
SEE YOU AT THE SOUTH POINT
 

ALUMNI NEWS

Student and Faculty Presidents took the forefront during the Twenty First Annual Alumni Reunion during the College Finals Rodeo in Casper in June. Mel Griffeth, Faculty President of the NIRA in 1970 and Harlan Schott, Student President that same year, worked together with the regional faculty and student directors and Sonny Sikes, then Executive Secretary of the NIRA, to take the College National Finals Rodeo to Bozeman, Montana. With the move to an indoor arena, the College Finals was on its way to bringing in the kinds of crowds that would make money from ticket sales and grow a following of rodeo fans.

Merrill Adams-Ellis, the first woman faculty president in 1984, and Marty Campbell, student president in 1998, told of the importance that their service to the NIRA meant to them at the time and the ways those experiences paid off in the future. All faculty and student presidents and directors face the same challenges-learn to produce a top quality rodeo, work with committees, do all the planning, make the decisions involved in putting on a complex event and balance all that with their “day jobs”. Adams-Ellis, who was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in April of this year, was a journalism instructor and rodeo coach at Southwest Texas Junior College in 1984 and Campbell had to keep up his grades at Eastern Oregon University while recovering from a career ending bronc riding injury. His work as Student President in 1998 led directly to a place on the production end of the Wrangler National Finals.

A couple of National Championship Teams were also represented at the reunion. Dr. Don Mitchell coached at Southwestern Oklahoma State University for over thirty years. His teams won Championship Team titles six time and second place titles six more times. Don brought a group from SWOKSU to celebrate the Men’s Championship Team from 1992. Gathering in Casper were the President of the University, Randy Beutler, Athletic Director Todd Thurman, former assistant coaches George Howard and Phil Haugen and team member J.D. Crouse.
In 1961, the University of Wyoming sent a team to the College National Finals. They took the championship and have been inducted into the University of Wyoming Hall of Fame. All were from Wyoming and all still live in Wyoming! Al Smith, Fred Wilson, Frank Shepperson and Jim Moore were members of that team and were introduced in the arena on Friday night.

ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

The NIRAA and the Weary Foundation presented the Fourth Place Men’s Scholarship, in a tie, to MIssouri Valley Community College and Utah Valley University. The Fourth Place Women’s Team is Mesalands Community College and Macy Fuller of Mesalands received the Woman Rookie of the Year scholarship. We had a tie in the Men’s Rookie of the Year Scholarship also. The recipients are Lane Santos-Karney of CalPoly, San Luis Obispo, Lucas Screws from Frank Phillips College and Will Woodin of Weatherford College.

COLLEGE RODEO’S ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR

In 2012, the NIRA and the Alumni presented the coveted title Alumnus of the Year and the beautiful silver Maynard buckle to Bill Laycock of Laramie, Wyoming. Bill has devoted a life time of service to college rodeo. He has served on the NIRA Board of Directors, is one of the charter members of the Alumni, served as Secretary-Treasurer for the Alumni, worked with an attorney to attain tax exempt status for the Alumni organization, announced numerous high school and regional rodeos, coached the Wyoming team in the ‘90s and with the assistance of his wife Charlotte, tirelessly supported college rodeo at every turn. Bill Laycock joins a stellar list of former Alumni of the Year: Bob Clore, Sonny Sikes, Charlie Rankin, Sylvia Mahoney, Evelyn Bruce Kingsbery, Walt Garrison, and John Smith.

DISTINGUISHED CONTRIBUTOR TO COLLEGE RODEO

Each year the Alumni present a trophy to a person who has been a ‘distinguished contributor” to the success of our favorite sport. This year the award went to Sarah Neely. Sarah is the Dircctor of Public Relations and Administration for the NIRA. Sarah and her merry band, Claudia Kelly, Kelli Gaines, and Judy Kittle are the heart and soul of the N IRA. They work hard and do it gracefully. Not only do they have to deal with heedless adolescents but, where the alumni are concerned, clueless oldsters. Seriously, Sarah and the staff of the NIRA are efficient, know their stuff, and are a pleasure to work with. Sarah belongs in the company of previous “outstanding contributors”: Bill Laycock, Joanne Sikes, Jerry Beagley, and Charlie Chambers.

CHANGES ON THE ALUMNI BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Three long serving members of the alumni board have retired this year. Bob Clore of BCR Awards, Sylvia Mahoney, founder of the Alumni, and Charles Chambers, former coach at Eastern New Mexico University and “Gateman” for many years at the CNFR have all left the board and they will be very much missed. We want to thank them for their outstanding service over many years and hope they will continue to be available for wise counsel.

Two of the new board members are familiar faces in college rodeo: Del Nose, rodeo coach at Northwest College, Powell, Wyoming and Tom Parker, coach at Casper College, Casper, Wyoming. Mary Fuller, who won the College National Championship in Goat Tying in 1968, has also joined the board. Fuller competed for Southwest Texas State University when she won her championship. She completed her education at Texas Tech in Lubbock with a Master’s Degree in Animal Nutrition. She has recently retired from Nestle PURINA PetCare Company where she was Senior Nutritionist. She worked on performance dog nutrition with Susan Butcher of Iditarod Race fame as well as many law enforcement agencies Fuller was the Texas High School Barrel Racing Champion in 1964 and competed in barrel racing and team penning competitions over the years. She currently has a team of border collies that she has bred and trained to compete in “Flydog” competitions in the U.S. and Canada.

ALUMNI REUNION FOR 2013

The Twenty Second Annual NIRA Reunion will take place June 14 and 15 during the College National Finals in Casper, Wyoming. We will be looking for contestants, champions, directors, atnatstudent and faculty from all the years ending with three, 1953, 1963, 1973, 1983, 1993, and 2003. Make your plans now to attend. Want to see the list of champions, top finishers, top teams, and where those long ago college finals were held? Go to the NIRA website and click on “downloads,” scroll down to “previous national champions” to find the lists from those years.
 

Visit our website:  http://collegerodeoalumni.com

CONTACTS:

SEE YOU IN CASPER IN JUNE!