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For high school seniors there are plenty of opportunities to earn scholarships. Here are a few tips that I think may help as you look to find the school that is the right fit for you.
I just want to keep it real. Less than six percent of all student athletes are on a full ride scholarship. Not rodeo students, all student athletes, every sport, every college. Football, basketball, baseball all sports combined amount to less than six percent on true full ride scholarships. And when you really look at the full ride scholarships, they are in the big revenue sports such as football, and basketball, the sports that fill stadiums and generate revenue for the schools. Rodeo has never filled a 100,000 seat stadium six or eight times a year like an SEC football team will. Scholarships are there, full rides are scarce.
The dollar amount of the scholarship should not be the determining factor for your choice of schools. I know students that made the choice based simply on dollars. They took a $3,000 scholarship to Rodeo Time University where tuition is $12,000 per year and turned down a scholarship of $2,000 to Rodeo Tech College where tuition is only $4,000 per year. They took $500 more in scholarship money but the choice really cost them thousands of dollars. Look at the big picture and make wise decisions.
Many times the schools that make the best offers scholarship wise, have the least to offer in other areas. Check out the dorms, the academic programs you are interested in, the practice facilities, the stalls, the coaches. How many times a week you can practice. How long do you practice in the fall and spring seasons. Does the school offer tutors for you, athletic trainers. Will your classes transfer to other schools? How big is the team? Make sure you are a good fit for the school and the school is a good fit for you.
There are a lot of other scholarships available. From having attended three different colleges and working at a couple as well, there is much more money available in academic scholarships than there are in athletic scholarships at every college you will look at. From your freshman year of high school on, your high school grades can help or hurt you when applying for scholarships when you get to college. When combined with athletic scholarships, academic scholarships can be huge, they can truly help you earn that full-ride. Many of the students that I have had that had the best scholarships were on rodeo scholarships combined with academic scholarships. You are a student athlete first, and if you truly are, there can be financial rewards.
Apply for as many scholarships as you can. Local scholarships. High School Rodeo Scholarships. Foundation scholarships. Search for scholarships on the internet. There are thousands of scholarships available if you are willing to put in a little work. Don’t be afraid to write a few essays, or fill out some applications. I know several students who have earned over $5,000 for just a little effort in applying for scholarships.
Know the employees in your colleges Financial Aid Office on a first name basis. If they know you are willing to apply and put forth effort to get additional scholarships they will help you out.
By NIRA rules Letters of Intent cannot be signed until March 1st of your senior year. Start the recruiting process now contact the programs you are interested in now. Visit schools, visit coaches, do your research on the school and rodeo programs. When March 1st rolls around you should have a good idea of which school you are interested in attending. Don’t be fooled or pressured into signing your LOI before March 1st.
Once you land a scholarship on a rodeo team make yourself an asset to the team. Get good grades, chances are you can earn an academic scholarship in the future. Score lots of points, you may earn a better rodeo scholarship. Treat college like a job, and be a great employee, chances are you may get a raise in some form of a scholarship.
Final thought—Scholarships are a privilege not a right. When you receive a scholarship it is fair that the coach/college have expectations for you to do well in the classroom and in the arena. You need to be a good student, a good athlete and a good representative for the school. If you don’t hold up your end of the deal, don’t expect the college to keep you around.

There is a transition from high school rodeo to college rodeo and from college rodeo to pro rodeo. For a select few the transition is seamless and hardly noticeable. For the majority there are some growing pains on making the transition.
Most student athletes at the college level were recruited for their talent and their potential to rise to the next level. Every year college coaches from around the country recruit students on their past accomplishments but most importantly on their potential.
Most of the highly recruited students were very successful in high school rodeo but that does not translate to success at the college or professional level.
So what is the difference between those who make the transition and those who don’t?
Comfort Zones.
Those who experience success will often fall into a comfort zone. It is easy to be complacent when you dominate at an early level. It is easy to get comfortable winning. What you do in the practice pen works, it is comfortable. What you do in the arena works, you win, and it is comfortable. You fall in to a comfort zone.
Then you have to step up to the next level. There will be a majority students who were successful at the high school level competing at the college level. Those who are willing to step out of their comfort zone will be the ones that progress the quickest.
To step out of your comfort zone you can’t be afraid to fail. Every World Champion has failed, and it was not comfortable for them. They have failed in trying great things, trying to win. They then used the experience to become better and improve themselves.
You have to be focused on a goal to step out of a comfort zone. It is easy to go to the practice pen and stay as good as you were when you showed up. To really improve and grow you need to be focused on improving and getting better every day. Don’t waste your energy and effort to just stay as good as you are, work to improve daily.
Comfort zones can include your practice habits, your practice cattle or those you practice with.
If you have any doubt about your practice habits have someone who competes at a high level in another sport come watch you practice. Let them ask you questions on why you do things, how you do things. Many times they can pick up on small changes you can make to be better. Many times when you get to college your college coach will also pick up on the good and the bad of your practice habits.
Make sure you have a variety of practice cattle. Have some that will challenge you. Don’t always run the pups or get on horses and bulls you know you can cover. Because you can cover the hopper every day in the practice pen, doesn’t mean you are ready for the rank one at the rodeo.
Find people that are better than you to practice with. Many are intimidated to go practice with those who are better than them, don’t be. They were once where you are, and they can help you get where they are. Watch them and learn from them.
Step out of your comfort zone.

C.J. Aragon was named the 2008-2011 Grand Canyon Region Coach-of-the-Year. 2014-2015 WJCAC Coach-of-the-Year, 2016 Southwest Region Coach-of-the-Year, and 2010 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Coach-of-the-Year.