National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association-Alumni (NIRAA) Archives

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Meet the Member Butch Bratsky -2020 NIRAA Alumnus of the Year

story by Merrill Ellis From mutton bustin’ to banking, Butch Bratsky has pulled his rope, positioned himself, and gotten the job done! The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, Inc. was lucky enough to have Butch at the helm of the organization for eight years. After stepping down in 2019, he has remained a productive board member and contributor to the NIRAA Scholarship Fund. So, it was a natural that the NIRAA Board of Directors would nominate…

NIRAA News

by Merrill Ellis As I was preparing this article for press time, the President of United States had extended the social distancing until April 30, 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic. I am hopeful and prayerful that when you read this article in the May issue of Rodeo News the United States is starting to recover from this historical outbreak. Several announcements have been made by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association during the months…

NIRAA 29th Reunion & Group to Award $35,000 in Scholarships

story by Merrill Ellis June 19 and 20 the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Alumni, Inc. (NIRAA) will celebrate 29 years hosting a reunion and providing scholarships for college rodeo athletes. The annual reunion will take place during the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) at the Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center. NIRAA will honor all the NIRA national champions, championship teams, top finishers, queens, coaches, and faculty and student presidents for the years ending in “0”:…

Meet the Member Cheryl Harley Volz

story by Sharon Adams Seeds of rodeo were planted early in life for this city kid, but they didn’t truly blossom until her NIRA years at Colorado State University. While there, she was the women’s goat tying director and qualified for the national finals in St. George, Utah. Her dad said she majored in art and minored in rodeo. She says he had it backwards. Cheryl also studied drawing at the Kansas City Art Institute,…

Meet the Member Tom Miller

story by Don Reichert Tom Miller is most famous for his saddle bronc riding prowess, but when he was younger, he was a fierce competitor in other rough stock events and in timed events, as evidenced by his National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association wins. Miller rodeoed for Black Hills State College (now University) and was 5th in the bull riding and 3rd in the all-around in NIRA standings in 1969. 50 years ago, in 1970, Tom…

NIRAA Scholarship Donor Program New Incentives Announced for Scholarship Contributors

story by Merrill Ellis, NIRAA Secretary/Treasurer The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Alumni, Inc (NIRAA) is pleased to announce new donor scholarship benefits for contributors to the 2020 NIRAA Scholarship Fund. Through the generosity of former collegiate rodeo athletes, the NIRAA will award $30,000 in scholarships for the second consecutive year at the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR). A total of 56 scholarships will be given to students at the CNFR Award’s Ceremony June 20, 2020…

Meet the Member Jim Easley

story by Sharon Adams In April of 1949, eight young men from Texas piled into a station wagon in Lubbock and headed for California. The Texas Tech Rodeo Team were going to the Cow Palace in San Francisco. The team members included: Bud Halsell, John Wilson, Jim Easley, Dale Winders, B.F. Yeates, Tommie Bell and Bob Morris. Accompanying them was faculty advisor, Fred Widmeyer. He was not much older than the team members. They filled…

Meet the Member Don Reichert

Newly Elected NIRAA President story by Sharon Adams South Dakotan Don Reichert is the newly elected President of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Alumni and he brings with him a lifetime of leadership and rodeo experience. He was president of his high school FFA chapter, Great Plains Region NIRA Student Director, Advisor for the FFA while teaching vocational agriculture, Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Badlands Circuit Manager, Chairman of his church congregation, and Chairman of the…

Meet the Member Roping, Riding & Real Estate with JJ Hampton

story by Christi Braudrick, Southeastern Oklahoma State University rodeo coach If you want to spend a day hanging out with JJ Hampton, a 48 year old- 17 time world champion roper get ready for it to be a long day. JJ is a mom to Cason her 10 year old son, a wife to Ricky Prince and owns her own business, a real estate company- JJ Hampton Realty in Stephenville, Texas. A typical day starts…

Cal Poly: Raising Rodeo Legends

story by Sage Marie Massey Rodeo took California State Polytechnic University by storm on April 8, 1939 when 15 student athletes joined up to compete at the C Bar G Ranch near Victorville, California. Cal Poly has continued this cowboy tradition ever since. In 1949, Cal Poly joined the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), sending its six-man team to the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in San Francisco, CA. Cal Poly quickly achieved national recognition…

Willard P. Phillips for the Collegiate Arena

Kansas State Man Goes to First College Finals in 1949 story by Sharon Adams “I like to tell people that Slim Pickens saved my life. He was the clown at the finals at the Cow Palace in San Francisco seventy years ago. I was bucked off my bull and Slim Pickens jumped between me and the bull,” says Willard Phillips. Slim Pickens went on to a long and successful career in the movies but Phillips…

Meet the Member Bob Penfield Cowboy, Bareback Rider, Army Veteran, Auctioneer, Writer

story by Don Reichert In 1951, Bob Penfield, Lemmon, South Dakota and Guy Ham, Rapid City, South Dakota met with the president of South Dakota State College (now University) Brookings, South Dakota to pursue starting a rodeo club. “He didn’t throw us out, but he might as well of because he did hold the door open for us so we could walk out easy. And his last words to us were ‘As far as I’m…