Program Overview

Cal Poly’s 1940 Rodeo Team won the national championship at the Intercollegiate Rodeo at Victorville on April 13, 1940.
From left: Carl Miller, Gilmore Ross, Jim Blake (shaking hands with Cal Poly President Julian McPhee), Hugh Kroupa, Gordon Moore, McPhee, Jim Cochran and Rodney Clare. Kneeling: Vic Tomei (left) and Bill Gallagher.

80 Years Young: Reflecting on our program’s humble beginnings to today.

From the dusty wood and chain link fence lines of Collet Arena to the pipe steel archway that hangs proudly over Manfred and Jean Sander Arena today, many young men and women have tested their skills, built friendships, and discovered and developed who they wanted to become inside the arena walls of the Cal Poly Rodeo program. Several of those awkward, struggling, college students went on to become some of the greats, both in and out of the arena. All graduated as Cal Poly Rodeo Mustangs, as proud of a group of people as you will ever meet.

This year marks the 80th Annual Poly Royal Rodeo. Eighty years of the Cal Poly Rodeo family pulling together to put on what has become a pillar of college rodeos. For two years standing the rodeo has been named the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association’s rodeo of the year. From the competitors it fields at each rodeo to the graduates who are ready to work hard in the face of any challenge, for decades the Cal Poly Rodeo Program has set the bar in college rodeo.

This year’s rodeo will continue the program’s legacy. For the first time, the Poly Royal Rodeo will partner with the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) to host the Poly Royal PBR Velocity Tour Event (see article, Page 7). Students enrolled in the rodeo production class will produce the event. It will be followed by the Poly Royal Cinch Chute Out Short Round to exhibit the final round of competition from the preliminary qualifiers.

The program has grown to become what it is today because of the support of the Cal Poly Rodeo Boosters (see Page 4) and the many sponsors and donors who have partnered with the program, becoming valued members of the family and an integral part of the success story. Private support fuels scholarships, travel to competitions, equipment, and additional resources to provide the best opportunities available to all students.

To donate and continue the legacy, visit http://bit.ly/givecprodeo.