National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association-Alumni (NIRAA) Archives

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National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association-Alumni (NIRAA)

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Email: niraainfo@gmail.com

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Why I Joined the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Alumni, Inc. and Why You Should Join

by Cory Ferguson If you rodeoed in college, it was probably one of the most enjoyable times of your life. I know it was for me. That is why I feel compelled to continue to support the NIRA and all that it stands for. The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Alumni, Inc is a great opportunity to maintain and renew your ties with college rodeo. If you are already a member of the NIRAA, it is…

NIRAA Will Award $30,000 in Scholarships to collegiate rodeo athletes

by Merrill Ellis The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Alumni, Inc. Board Members (NIRA Alumni) are pleased to announce that they will award $30,000 in scholarships to collegiate rodeo athletes at the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in 2019. The NIRA Alumni, Inc. focuses on ensuring that students from across the nation participating in college rodeos have the opportunity to succeed in their pursuit of higher education. “All of our board members competed in college rodeos…

Meet the Member 1959 Bareback Riding Co-Champion Larry O’Neill

story by Don Reichert San Antonio cowboy, Larry O’Neill, was the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association co-champion in the bareback riding in 1959. Rodeoing for the University of Texas at Austin, Texas, he won the Southern Region bareback riding and earned enough points at the College National Finals Rodeo in Klamath Falls, Oregon to be awarded the co-championship honor. O’Neill was born in 1937 and grew up on a ranch near Hermosa, South Dakota, south of…

Meet the Member A Shortage of Cowgirls

by Sylvia Gann Mahoney from College Rodeo from Show to Sport The team to test the qualifying rule for teams and individuals in college rodeo in 1982 was a two-cowgirl team from New Mexico Junior College. Coaches have all kinds of strategies for winning. For Coach Sylvia Mahoney, it was recruiting the best since she did not have a background of rodeo competition. The names of Tami Noble of Yale, Oklahoma, and LaRae Higgins of…

Meet the Member Jordan Thurston-Miller

story by Sharon Adams Jordan Thurston-Miller is the youngest member of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Alumni Board of Directors. She brings a welcome youthful perspective, a wealth of rodeo experience and a commitment to the future of College Rodeo and she is carrying on a family tradition. Her mother, Tiffany Thurston is also a member of the NIRAA Board. Jordan was the College National Goat Tying Champion in 2010 as a freshman at Gillette…

NIRAA Inc. to Award $30,000 in Scholarships at the 2019 College National Finals Rodeo

By Merrill Ellis The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Alumni, Inc. (NIRA Alumni) announced today that they will award $30,000 in scholarships to collegiate rodeo athletes at the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in 2019. “To date, this is our largest scholarship contribution in the 27 year history of the NIRA Alumni. We are both excited and proud to make this announcement,” stated Butch Bratsky, NIRA Alumni, Inc. President. The $30,000 educational support was decided upon…

Meet the Member Leah Moellman Loeb

story by Mary Fuller Many years ago I watched a 7 year old girl run barrels during one of the last PRCA rodeos held in St. Louis, Missouri in the famous Checkerdome Arena. She was an outstanding rider at that age and continued to excel in her horsemanship as well as being a role model to others in various aspects of her life. Leah’s parents provided endless hours working with her and hauling her to…

Meet the Rodeo Team Tarleton State University

story by Merrill Ellis In the late 60’s and early 70’s, Tarleton State University (TSU) in Stephenville, Texas rocked the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association world with three consecutive national women’s team championships. They claimed these three team titles in 1969, 1970, and 1971, No other school has ever accomplished winning three national championships back-to-back. The names of these cowgirls were not only synonymous in the collegiate ranks but in the Girls Professional Rodeo Association (GRA)…

Meet the Rodeo Team Montana State University Rodeo Team

story by Merrill Ellis Montana State Bobcat Rodeo (MSU) is one of the most storied programs in the history of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA). In addition to nearly 30 years of hosting the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR), MSU Rodeo Teams have claimed 8 National Team Championships, 32 individual National Championships and a multitude of Big Sky Regional crowns. At this year’s CNFR, the BOBCATS had five qualifiers compete in the short round…

2018 NIRA Alumni, Inc. Scholarship Awards

By Merrill Ellis The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Alumni, Inc. awarded $11,500 in scholarships this year at the 70th Annual College National Finals Rodeo June 16 in Casper, Wyoming. A $1,000 scholarship was presented to Cuesta College of San Luis Obispo who won the Fourth Place Men’s Team competition. Texas A & M University in College Station won the $500 Women’s Team Fourth Place Scholarship. Maddee Doerr of Cochise College in Sierra Vista, Arizona was…

Meet the Member Ned Londo

Ned Londo selected as 2018 NIRAA Alumnus of the Year story by Sharon Adams Ned Londo was an outstanding rodeo cowboy but he was chosen as the Alumnus of Year by the NIRA Alumni for his exemplary service on the Alumni Board of Directors. His friend Stan Harter twisted his arm a bit to get him to “volunteer” but, like every commitment he has made in his life, he gives it his best. He gives…

South Dakota Cowboys Win Big in 1988 Charley Winters

story by Larry Burgess, NIRA Alumni, Inc. Vice President Charles Alexander Winters, better known to his friends and family as Charley, was born on March 6, 1941 in Weed, NM. His family moved frequently and Charley attended thirteen different schools before his family bought and began operating a farming/ranching operation just outside Aztec, NM. That’s where Charley learned to rope and ride. He attended Aztec high school and began rodeoing there in FFA and 4H…