Academic Excellence

Celebrating the Cal Poly rodeo program’s student-athlete most valuable players

By Ben Londo | Head Coach | Cal Poly Rodeo

Incoming freshman Ava Coletto is an aerospace engineering
major with hopes that her rodeo experience will hone
her competitive edge in the job market.

Although I try to not let it get to me, it upsets me when I see a competitor in college rodeo, or any college sport, gain the limelight without truly representing what a student-athlete embodies. When I see a national champion crowned or a buckle given to a competitor who couldn’t tell you how to get to their home college campus, I feel sorry for the second-, third-, maybe fifth-place contestants who had three finals to finish while competing in Casper, Wyoming, at the national finals.

College sports are a mechanism for students to continue competing in a sport of passion while working toward their degree in higher education. In many cases, a student’s talent in a sport results in a scholarship, giving them the financial support to pursue a college education. The word “student” still comes before “athlete” when describing a college sport competitor, and that’s an important thing to remember.

As a coach at a very demanding academic institution, I see all the responsibilities these young men and women must juggle. I know the hard work and the amount of time they put into the practice pen, and I see the dedication they must share with their studies. It’s tough for me to see students sit out practices or Friday matches to study for an exam or make up a quiz that they had to miss when they traveled the previous week to a regional rodeo. However, I do understand their commitment.

I remember all too well running myself ragged while a student at Cal Poly. In my junior year I had a tough winter quarter: physics, calculus 2 and a real estate investment class that was a real time commitment. I was trying to keep up at the college rodeos and continue to compete in professional rodeos because I had a great run at the winter rodeos. I remember leaving on Thursday nights, driving to Texas or Arizona to go to two or three rodeos, then trying to make it back for an 8 a.m. class on Monday.

I had a friend in the Cal Poly Disabilities Resource Center get me the audio version of my real estate investment class, and I tried to learn “on the fly.” Cal Poly and the professors were much more lenient back then than they are now. I don’t see how I would have been able to make it now. Having been there and seeing it daily now, I appreciate the struggle our Cal Poly Rodeo Mustangs are facing.