College Rodeo: From Show to Sport

Chapter 8 1997 to 2003—A College Sport and Big Business

c h a p t e r 8 194 c h a p t e r 8  to —A College Sport and Big Business The twentieth century ended with college rodeo contestants pushing the competitive edge and the NIRA becoming a big business. The accomplishments continued in spite of the earlier contestants’ records that seemed unbeatable. The NIRA was knowledgeable, experienced, and independent, although not independently wealthy. It was branching into areas of service to its members, such as endowed scholarships,funding for injured athletes,recognition of academic excellence,collecting its history,and honoring its alumni.Following the lead of other collegiate sports, colleges and universities were hiring experienced rodeo coaches with the drive to win. The cowgirls, as had women in other sports, had entered the twentieth-first century equal to the cowboys as talented, skilled contestants. College rodeo kept true to its western heritage while joining the world of technology. Web pages touted college rodeo programs , and coaches responded to e-mailed questions with instant answers. Generally,college rodeo had become recognized as a college sport,not a show, and the NIRA was moving to a new level of self-determination. However, one era ended in  with the changing of its longtime leader,and a new era began with a new leader and many unknowns for the future of the NIRA. Internal changes occurred first for theNIRA with the announcement of leadershipadjustments .AftertheCNFR,publicationmanagerKayLynnBeard turned the NIRA newspaper over to Sarah Neely,who brought valuable experience from her years working for the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado  to —A College Sport and Big Business 195 Springs, Colorado. Beard’s reasons for leaving cited the demands of her fulltime job as counselor and instructor at Walla Walla Community College and her family’s rodeo production company. The Tri-State Livestock News in Sturgis, South Dakota, contracted the advertisement sales, the printing, and mailing responsibilities. The Tri-State Livestock News hired Colette “Koko” Knutson Gjermundson of Marshall,North Dakota,to expand the CNFR coverage by writing daily articles for the Daily CNFR Editions. Gjermundson’s credentials included writing talent, a communications degree, and family rodeo roots.1 Promoting college rodeo as a sport, the NIRA made position titles comparable to other college sports and the PRCA.The NIRA general manager became the NIRA commissioner, combining the duties of CNFR director with NIRA executive secretary and general manager. NIRA commissioner Tim Corfield had given up his coaching job after twenty-three years, so he agreed to the new combination of responsibilities. Corfield, who joined the  NIRA board as Northwest Region faculty director,had become the NIRA executive secretary– general manager in . Along with this job and coaching, Corfield taught history and economics at Walla Walla Community College as well as directed his two daughters through the ranks of rodeo competition. As rodeo coach, Tim Corfield’s Walla Walla Community College teams had won one team and fiveeventchampionships.Corfieldjoinedtheranksofanelitegroupofcoaches from ten two-year schools who had won national team championships. WhentheNIRA wasfinallyeconomicallyabletoexpanditsstaff,itstilllacked enough administrative personnel to adequately manage all aspects of the NIRA and the CNFR.Five people comprised the office personnel in .NIRA commissioner Tim Corfield, whose four-year contract ended June , , was the chief executive officer and manager of the business office, subject to the supervision and direction of the NIRA Board of Directors. Sarah Neely managedtheCollegiateArenaandcoordinatedtheNIRA FoundationandRAWHIDE. The NIRA newspaper had a circulation of about ,. RAWHIDE, defined as Rodeo Athletes on Wellness,was a program designed to strengthen rodeo participants ’wellnessscopeandtoeducatethemregardingalcoholanddrugabuse. The office-business manager Donna Maiden was responsible for the personnel issues, encompassing salaries, office procedures, clerical services, job interviewing , and job evaluations. Her job included maintaining the financial records for the NIRA, CNFR, NIRF, and RAWHIDE. The rodeo secretary Lori c h a p t e r 8 196 Brown maintained the addresses for all stock contractors,judges,and regional secretaries, assisted in assigning judges, and scheduled rodeos and judging seminars as well as compiled and maintained rodeo statistics. The membership secretary Claudia Kelly determined the eligibility status of college students , maintained membership lists, and processed CNFR applications. The NIRA connected to the Internet and created a Web page with information about membership, scholarships, alumni, the foundation, and the CNFR. They eventually had weekly updates on the regional standings and daily updates during the CNFR. With the growing number of contestants, finding adequate, quality stock became a...