Slept on: Domination of Rodeo Athletics in Mississippi

**Did you know we have two Mississippi community colleges that dominate the college rodeo scene?**

What is a rodeo?

A rodeo is a competitive event that showcases various skills related to ranching and cattle handling. Originating from the traditions of cowboys, rodeos typically include a range of events such as bull riding, barrel racing, calf roping, and steer wrestling. Participants, often referred to as cowboys or cowgirls, compete for prizes and titles, demonstrating their expertise in handling livestock and riding horses. Rodeos also serve as cultural celebrations. They will have live music, food, family activities, and more. . They embody the spirit of the Wild West and Southern cowboy culture.

Rodeo’s at the college level:

College rodeo teams compete in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA). The NIRA has more than 135 colleges and universities with rodeo teams, and is divided into 11 regions. The top three contestants in each event at the end of the spring season advance to the College National Finals Rodeo in June, where the national champions are crowned. Like mentioned before, rodeo’s embody the culture of the Western United States. The University of Wyoming’s mascot is literally the Cowboys, with a logo of a cowboy riding a horse rodeo style. If you were to google ‘Top 10 Rodeo Schools’, all of them would be from the West. This being said, the South is not shy to a rodeo, or even to the College National Finals Rodeo held every June. In Mississippi, we have two schools that have consistently dominated the college rodeo scene.

Northwest CC and East Mississippi CC:

Northwest CC:

Just recently, Northwest Mississippi’s very own Will Collier was one of several highlights of the rodeo program in last weekend’s Viking Stampede. This event served as the 2024-25 season-opener in the NIRA’s Ozark Region. Collier is a sophomore steer wrestler and was able to earn 180 total points and win first place in the steer wrestling event. He was one of several top finishers that helped Northwest finish second in the men’s standings, while the Lady Rangers also earned fourth place. On top of Collier placing first, Dakota Smith and Luke Stanley placed first and second in bull riding. Northwest produced yet another victory in calf-roping, with Tate Williams placing third in this event. Lady ranger and sophomore Delaney Naifeh displayed her rodeo this weekend, finishing second in goat tying with 110 total points. For the weekend, the Northwest men totaled 495 points, placing second behind West Alabama’s 560 team points. The Rangers placed 10 points ahead of Missouri Valley College and well ahead of fellow in-state programs Pearl River and East Mississippi. However, this is not to undermine the talent of these other schools, especially East Mississippi.

East Mississippi:

East Mississippi Community College’s continuous streak of having student-athletes qualify for the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) has reached 14 consecutive years as of May 13, 2024. This means that since 2010, East Mississippi has produced rodeo riders who are able to dominate and compete at the national level. A lot of these students have been involved in rodeo competitions for as long as they can remember. For example, if you look at East Mississippi’s Tanner Brown, Prior to his EMCC rodeo days, Brown was the 2020 Mississippi High School tie-down roping champion, while also winning the finals average in team roping and earning reserve champion heeler honors for the year. Brown also previously paired with current EMCC teammate and Kemper Academy product Matt Watt as the 2016 National Junior High Finals Rodeo team roping champions. While at EMCC, Tanner Brown has become the program’s fifth rodeo student-athlete to qualify for three CNFRs since the inception of EMCC’s rodeo program in 2010.

The Path to Professionalism:

For many athletes, college rodeo serves as a stepping stone to professional rodeo careers. The NIRA is a gateway to competitions like the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA). Success in college rodeo can lead to sponsorship opportunities, scholarships, and a platform to launch a career in the rodeo circuit. We hope to see professional futures for our Mississippi riders, and it is fully possible with the grit and success they have been consistently showing.