Sports Reporter
acastro@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
There’s nothing like a home game. This weekend, the CMU rodeo team will host the final rodeo of the season and the first one at home in the program’s history.
“The Maverick Stampede Rodeo is the last rodeo in our region,” coach Jimmy Allen said. “They’re going to crown the year-end champions here.”
As a part of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, CMU participates in the Rocky Mountain region, which includes seven other schools from Colorado, Utah and Idaho.
Freshman Elementary Education major Haillie Taylor is ready for CMU’s rodeo team to become more well-known.
“I want people to find out that we are competitive and that we want to go places too, just like the football team does and the basketball team,” Taylor said.
CMU’s first home rodeo will be held Friday and Saturday in Orchard Mesa at the Mesa County Fairgrounds at 7 p.m. Both nights will feature mutton-busting with concessions, vendors and hayrides also available. Tickets are $5 for students and $8 for adults.
Because this is the school’s first, both Allen and the team have worked hard to make sure the event will be successful.
“It’s been a lot of work on us and on the kids to put the whole rodeo together,” Allen said. “We were going out and getting sponsorships because we didn’t have money left over to put on a rodeo, and it takes about $15,000 to do so. We’ve had to raise a lot of money.”
Grand Junction Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge has been the biggest sponsor of the Maverick Stampede Rodeo, which has been advertised in various media outlets across the Grand Valley.
Since beginning as a club at CMU, the rodeo team has evolved to an emerging sport in the athletic program. Last year, the rodeo team was given $10,000 from the school for scholarships, but Allen, who rodeoed for CMU in the mid ‘90s as a student, would like to see that number grow.
“I’m hoping that [number] bumps up a little bit more, because we’re getting a lot more kids in the sport,” Allen said.
According to Allen, the team currently does not hold any tryouts, and whoever would like to be on the team can.
“As many people as they want can go rodeo,” Allen said. “There’s a points team with six boys and four girls that I have to designate before every rodeo, but every CMU athlete rodeoing can go.”
Allen has high hopes for the program’s future, which aims to finish the season strong before recruiting for more team members.
“I want a kid to make it to the national finals,” Allen said. “That’s what I want. No one’s done it yet, but we will next year.”
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