College Rodeo: From Show to Sport

Chapter 4 1960s—NIRA Tested and Nomadic Finals

c h a p t e r 4 80 c h a p t e r 4 s—NIRA Tested and Nomadic Finals The s began with two college rodeo associations instead of one.In  a group of disgruntled cowboys and faculty sponsors had split from the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) and formed the American College Rodeo Association (ACRA). Compromise resolved the issues that separated the two organizations, resulting in one organization, a stronger, more stable NIRA. It also grew stronger with the hiring of a secretary-manager , who worked for a university and maintained a national office in one location. A bonus came with the new secretary-manager whose wife managed the office. But the rodeo finals continued seeking a permanent home during the s. After resolving the divisive issues in the early s, the NIRA grew in size, strength, and competitive quality,but it continued to have problems. The  NIRA board agenda focused on crisis resolution. The board met in Denver with two of the regional directors missing. The directors from the Rocky Mountain and the Great Plains Regions had joinedACRA,organized on December ,.National adviser Red Heath of Lamar College; Southwest Region director Ross Caton; Southern Region director Jerry Moore of Sam Houston State; Pete Lewis of Sul Ross State; Hoss Inman,secretary-manager; Sonny Sikes,Sam Houston State faculty adviser; and Dick Eddler,NIRA office secretary,attendedthemeeting.Theboardaddressedtheproblem:“Inallcases the Board tried conscientiously to act in the best interest of all of the regions. s—NIRA Tested and Nomadic Finals 81 Members of the Board expressed their regret that due to circumstances beyond their control, the rest of the Board could not attend.”1 The grievances that had split the NIRA motivated the board to create an acceptablecompromiseattheJanuarymeeting.SinceColoradoStateandother schoolsintheRockyMountainRegionhadnotjoinedACRA,theRockyMountain Region had a board representative. National adviser James (Red) Heath requested that the NIRA give faculty members a vote in the organization. The board approved NIRA secretary-manager Hoss Inman’s proposal to add two new people to the management structure,H.A.Pedersen of Oregon Technical Institute as the Finals Rodeo Director and J. Woodson Railey as the NIRA attorney .Inman proposed diversification of responsibilities so that the part-time secretary-managercouldmanagethefull-timejob.Throughanewsletter,Inman attempted to create a better flow of information among the schools about rodeo dates and other information.2 The changes resulted in four amendments. The first stated that a school sponsoring a rodeo did not have to pay  percent of its net profit to the NIRA. The second stated that entry fees were at the discretion of the school sponsoring the rodeo. The third provided for the election of five faculty advisers in each region. The fourth change expanded the point-award events to include the girls’ barrel race and the optional girls’event. A team would still consist of one to six members.A coeducational college could have two girls on the team, and an all girls’ school, a full team of girls. The member-school rodeo clubs had to pass the amendments for them to become effective.3 ACRA continued with its plans to have a fully functioning organization as quickly as possible.Ten rodeos scheduled between April and May ,, were approved. Plans were made for a regional finals to be held on June  and  at Casper College in Casper, Wyoming. Students had to have ACRA cards to enter. Dale Hewson, Dickinson State Teachers College rodeo adviser, of Dickinson, North Dakota, wrote Jim Moore, University of Wyoming regional director, requesting two changes. First-quarter freshmen should be eligible to compete, and a finals rodeo should be planned so that “the organization may have adequate time to work out the necessary details for each event.”4 Second thoughts about joining the new organization started to surface among the schools. In a letter from ACRA executive-secretary Dale Stiles to ACRA president Charles Bowman at Montana State College,Stiles raised questions about ACRA and one school’s decision to stay with the NIRA.He stressed c h a p t e r 4 82 four points. Dickinson State had mentioned holding the finals. A uniform entry blank for all ACRA schools was needed. An explanation of “the soundness of ACRA with schools who are not entirely familiar with the association” was needed and a review of the ACRA constitution and bylaws.Stiles indicated that all the schools might not join ACRA: “I...