My darling wife and I have been to RodeoHouson a couple of times during its current run -- but were really disappointed that they dropped the collegiate championship rodeo that we so enjoyed last year and replaces it with the Xtreme Bulls competition. We enjoyed seeing the young people competing -- and look forward to seeing some of them in future years as professional competitors.

Hoping to cash in on the growing popularity of college sports, RodeoHouston three years ago started a collegiate championship, making the event the grand finale of its multimillion-dollar parade of concerts, livestock shows and pro rodeos at Reliant Park.

Until this year, that is, when the amateur rodeo was canned — replaced by Xtreme Bullriding.

"Ticket sales didn't see any jumps," Leroy Shafer, chief operating officer for the nonprofit Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, said of the college rodeo. "We felt it was in our best interest to put a performance back out there, something the fans would want to see."

The scheduling change, as Shafer called it, is indicative of the challenges college rodeo faces, even as its professional counterpart continues to gain public attention and financial support at a global level. Although many colleges host rodeo teams, their athletes often times face uphill battles to win the respect and financial backing of other university sports.

"It is an expensive sport," said Sarah Neely, spokeswoman for the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. "It's not where you just need a gym. You have to pay for stalling, feed, horses, vet bills, trailers, trucks, diesel fuel — you run the gamut."

Her own organization canned its playoff championships five years ago because they were too expensive for small towns to organize. It still holds a national championship, which draws about 15,000 fans. Regional competitions also take place across the U.S. But unlike with other sports, college rodeo's economic dips, from gas prices to feed costs, can mean the difference for some cash-strapped students between competing and staying back at the barn.

I've got one of my high school students who is a calf-roper, and is looking looking for a college scholarship and eventual professional sponsorship. I'd hate to think that rodeo -- his passion -- will be something that is priced out of his reach by lack of interest at the lower levels of the sport.

Posted by: Greg at 06:29 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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