The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association

In the United States, there are over 135 colleges that have a rodeo team as a part of their athletic program. These teams are regulated by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) and have the opportunity to compete in a school year end College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR).

   The NIRA was started in 1948 by the people they serve–a group of college students. The organization divides the country into twelve competitive regions, known as the Big Sky Region, the Caprock Region, the Central Plains Region, the Central Rocky Mountain Region, the Grand Canyon Region, the Great Plains Region, the Lone Star Region, the Ozark Region, the Rocky Mountain Region, the Southern Region, the Southwest Region, and the West Coast Region. The Caprock Region and the Lonestar Region are two brand new regions created because the former single Southwest region had over 800 competitors in it alone.

  Within these twelve regions, the NIRA sanctions over 100 rodeos a year and has over 3,800 members. The NIRA has expanded to now not only sanction rodeos, but also offers an injured cowboy fund, yearly awards, a historical preservation fund, and a scholarship program. They also host alumni gatherings for storytelling and reconnecting. The alumni of its ranks include well known cowboys such as Ty Murray, Roy Cooper, Tuff Hedeman, and Chris LeDoux. Stories of their glory days are preserved in the historical preservation fund as well.

  For the scholarship program, athletes are nominated by their rodeo coaches but must meet stringent academic standards, maintaining a 3.5 GPA and having earned points and performed well at college rodeos within that season.

  The College National Finals Rodeo is held in Casper, Wyoming at the Ford Wyoming Center in mid June. Structured very similar to the National Finals Rodeo held in Las Vegas, there are five rounds of performances with the final round being a championship round. The rounds consist of team roping, barrel racing, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, breakaway roping, bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, and goat tying. The ladies goat tying is generally excluded from the professional rodeo circuit but is a popular high school rodeo event and maintains its place in the college ranks. In addition, the CNFR has long held women’s breakaway roping, an event that has been noticeably denied at the NFR.

   Both event specific champions and all-around champions from the men’s and women’s teams are crowned during these Wyoming days. In between competitions, there is a mercantile and a tradeshow for the western lifestyle enthusiast and several popular hangout spots for competitors and visitors to unwind.

   In a country where college football seems to dominate the television channels, rodeo has not been forgotten. It is thriving at colleges across the country and will continue to do so as more youth rise through the high school rodeo ranks and make their debut at the next big stage. Many of these competitors will then continue their rodeo career on a professional level through either the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association (WPRA) or the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA).