EMCC set to host collegiate rodeo this week at Meridian’s Lauderdale County Agri-Center
Exciting collegiate rodeo action returns to the Lauderdale County Agri-Center this week, as East Mississippi Community College’s 11th Annual Intercollegiate Rodeo kicks off Thursday (March 16) in Meridian. The three-day event will conclude with Saturday night’s championship round.
SCOOBA — Exciting collegiate rodeo action returns to the Lauderdale County Agri-Center this week, as East Mississippi Community College's 11th Annual Intercollegiate Rodeo kicks off Thursday (March 16) in Meridian. The three-day event will conclude with Saturday night's championship round.
This will mark the seventh straight year that EMCC has hosted a collegiate rodeo in Meridian.
Gates will open at 7 p.m. nightly. Tickets at the door are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Admission is free for children ages 5 and younger, and there will be a pig scramble available for children in that age group.
Men's and women's rodeo teams from several colleges and universities that comprise the Ozark Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) will compete in the event, including in-state foes Pearl River Community College and Northwest Mississippi Community College as well as the University of West Alabama.
Competitive events include bareback riding, tie-down roping, breakaway roping, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, goat tying, team roping, barrel racing, and bull riding.
The EMCC-hosted Meridian rodeo marks the spring opener for the NIRA's Ozark Region. Regional events are also scheduled to be held this spring in Poplarville (March 23-25), Monticello, Ark. (April 6-8), Martin, Tenn. (April 13-15) and Senatobia (April 27-29), with the ultimate goal of reaching the 2023 College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) set for June 11-17 at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyo.
"We always enjoy hosting this rodeo in Meridian and we encourage everyone to come out to the Lauderdale County Agri-Center again this year to support all of the outstanding student-athletes who will be competing next week. It's always a very entertaining three nights of college rodeo competition for the entire family," said EMCC head rodeo coach Morgan Goodrich.
As the spring rodeo season gets underway following five fall regional events, the EMCC men are presently ranked third within the Ozark Region and 19th nationally as a team with 1,995 total points. The Lions concluded the fall rodeo campaign in November with consecutive runner-up men's team finishes at events hosted by Southern Arkansas University and Murray State University.
Individually for EMCC's men squad, brothers Cooper and Cade Cowan are currently ranked within the top five nationally in the team roping header and heeler categories, respectively, with a region-best 500 total points apiece to date this season. The reigning College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) participants, out of Marshall Academy, have claimed five career Ozark Region event titles as EMCC competitors, including consecutive team roping wins at the University of West Alabama and Three Rivers College this past fall.
For additional information on EMCC's 11th Annual Intercollegiate Rodeo, please contact EMCC head rodeo coach Morgan Goodrich via email at mgoodrich@eastms.edu.