Grizzly Athletics to add rodeo team this fall; former resident to be team's 1st coach
Saddle up, Grizzly fans, because the rodeo is coming to town!
Officials with Missouri State University-West Plains' (MSU-WP) Grizzly Athletics program are adding a co-ed rodeo team to their list of intercollegiate sports. The team will begin competing this fall in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA).
"To be honest, the idea of Missouri State-West Plains having a collegiate rodeo team was probably the furthest thing from my mind when we started looking at additional sports for our students," MSU-WP Chancellor Dennis Lancaster said. "But the strong connection of rodeo to our region, our Ozark heritage, and our growing agriculture program here on campus made it a 'no-brainer,' if you will.
"It will be different, but I'm looking forward to meeting our student-riders, student-bronc busters, student-ropers and all those in the area who enjoy rodeo and want to see our college students' success in the arena and in the classroom," he added.
Sonny Smith, president of the Grizzly Club, said there is a lot of excitement in the community about the team's addition. "The excitement surrounding the addition of a collegiate rodeo program began several years ago, and the Grizzly Club has been working hard behind the scenes to make it a success," he said. "Every new sport brings new excitement and new fans to our programs. I believe the rodeo program will introduce new and nontraditional sports fans to our university."
The final piece of the puzzle
The recent addition of the Wulff-Risner Agriculture Science Center to MSU-WP was the final piece of the puzzle needed to start the team, Lancaster said. The farm gives the rodeo student-athletes a place to house their horses and equipment and provides practice facilities, he explained. Some construction will take place on the farm in the coming months to accommodate the needs of the team, university officials added.
Other factors also went into the decision, including identifying a potential coach for the team and solidifying a group of supporters for the program who can fill in funding gaps for the team, Lancaster added.
Former West Plains resident tapped as coach
The person university officials identified to lead their first rodeo team is former West Plains resident and pro rodeo cowboy Matt Hughes. His hiring is pending approval by the Missouri State University Board of Governors, Lancaster said.
Hughes has more than 20 years of experience in rodeo. He was a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the NIRA and reached the top 20 of the National Junior Bull Riding Association during his career. He has been the head coach of the rodeo team at Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari, New Mexico, since 2017.
"Matt's the perfect person to serve as our first rodeo coach," Lancaster said. "He's got the experience as a college rodeo coach in New Mexico, he's a great recruiter and program developer, and he knows our area well. But most of all, for me, Matt has the passion to make our program something special for our student-athletes, whether that's in terms of their rodeo competition or their pursuit of a college degree and career choice. We're excited that Matt's coming home."
Hughes began competing in rodeo events at the age of seven and started riding bulls professionally at 19. He was named the Southern Roughstock Cowboy Association Iron Man in 2011 and won several college rodeo events when he attended Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri, from 2012 to 2016. He served as assistant coach of the Missouri Valley rodeo team during his junior and senior years and graduated from Missouri Valley with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations degree.
Student-athletes from Hughes' teams at Mesalands have qualified for the Collegiate National Finals Rodeo every year he has been head coach, and he was named Coach of the Year in 2019. He grew the team from eight student-athletes to 30 and saw the team's overall grade point average go from 1.8 to 3.0 during his tenure. He also helped to successfully raise more than $300,000 to build a new practice facility for the team.
Hughes said he is excited to come back home to coach the rodeo team for MSU-WP. "It's a dream I've had since I was at Missouri Valley. It's literally been a 10-year dream of mine and to see it come to fruition is mind-blowing," he said. "I've always thought if we could have a rodeo program here, it would be very successful. I can't wait to get started."
FORMER PRO RODEO COWBOY and West Plains resident Matt Hughes will be returning home to coach Missouri State University-West Plains' (MSU-WP) first collegiate rodeo team this fall. With him above are his wife, Megan, and children Tilden (standing in front), Layton (held by Megan) and HeidiRae (held by Matt). (Photo provided)
More about the team
The Grizzly Rodeo team will compete in nine events in the Ozark Region of the NIRA, which fields teams from both two-year and four-year schools. Those events include bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, team roping, calf roping, steer wrestling, goat tying, barrel racing and ladies breakaway roping.
Other teams in the Ozark Region include Arkansas Tech University, East Mississippi Community College, Missouri Valley College, Murray State University, Northwest Mississippi Community College, Pearl River Community College, Southern Arkansas University, Three Rivers College, University of Arkansas-Monticello, University of Tennessee-Martin and University of West Alabama.
The season begins in September and runs through June when the College National Finals Rodeo is held in Casper, Wyoming.
Collegiate rodeo's pro element
One unique aspect about collegiate rodeo is that the student-athletes can ride the professional rodeo circuit, as well, Hughes said. "People in West Plains will be able to watch some of their Grizzlies on TV in those professional events," he added.
The dual levels of competition can be a double-edged sword, Hughes said. There will be times when the student-athletes will have to miss collegiate events to compete at a professional event elsewhere in the country. "Sometimes you take a hit in points on the collegiate level, but you pick up interest in your program at the pro level," he said. "Younger kids want to go to the schools where the winners are coming from."
The signing period for rodeo student-athletes began Friday, March 1, and Hughes said he's already identified several riders to sign to the first Grizzly Rodeo team. He plans to have a full team to compete in all nine rodeo events this fall.
"The thing I really enjoy about rodeo is these students tend to stay wherever they go to college," Hughes said. "They're hard-working kids, and because of the professional aspect of their participation, it brings great recognition to the college.
"I'm really excited about this opportunity and I hope everyone will get behind the team. It will give the community another way to support Missouri State University-West Plains," he added.
University officials also are hoping for great things from Grizzly Rodeo. "These are exciting times for Missouri State University-West Plains and Grizzly Athletics, and we're looking forward to seeing rodeo fans from near and far cheer on our Grizzlies," Lancaster said.
"Everyone with the Grizzly Club and Missouri State-West Plains is looking forward to the growth and excitement that rodeo will bring to our sports program and community, and we invite everyone who enjoys sports to get involved and help all our programs continue to thrive. Let's rodeo!," added Smith.
"It's an extremely exciting time to be a Grizzly, with the addition of rodeo and baseball next school year," MSU-WP Athletic Director Rusty Laverentz said. "We got lucky in hiring a candidate with the qualifications of Matt Hughes to take on the challenge of building a program from scratch. Knowing that he has done it before and is from the area are all big pluses in our favor. I look forward to working with Matt when he gets here and seeing where he takes the program. It's a great day to be a Grizzly for sure!"
For more information about the Grizzly Rodeo Team, contact Laverentz at 417-255-7990 or RLaverentz@MissouriState.edu.