PRORODEO Sports News - February 21, 2025

what (Wesley) Thorp was saying, to be one of the best, or to give it your best shot at being one of the best, you have to be around the best,” Dickinson said. “And this, this town, country environment, this school and facility, that's what it's all about.” TARLETON’S CALLING

Tarleton State has a tradition of perennial powerful national cham pionship rodeo teams, including the men’s team in 2024. The talent of Tarleton is a big draw to many cowboys. Many come to Tar leton and never leave Stephenville. Mark Eakin, who serves as the di rector of Rodeo Activities and head men’s rodeo coach at Tarleton, real izes his good fortune. “Everybody says (Stephenville) is the Cowboy Capital of the World for many reasons,” Eakin said. “A majority of PRCA athletes live right here. And you know, when you start talking about rodeo teams and things, this thing's been huge since they started winning national cham pionships here in 1967 and so just the atmosphere, the cowboy way of life right here is something that sets it apart from everything else.” Eakin acknowledged a lot has changed in the past two decades in Stephenville – especially at Tarleton. “Everything's changed, the growth from the academic side, as far as the campus goes, and the sports going (NCAA) Division 1 here at the college,” Eakin said. “We went from having a facility in town across from the Ag farm outdoors to having this amazing facility now that our ad ministration and everybody helped us get. I came back in 2008, and the student population, we had about 7,000 students, and now Tarleton is over 20,000 so just the growth of the town and growth of our university has really taken off.” PRORODEO Resistol Rookie saddle bronc rider Ira Dickinson, who spent his last two years of college at Tar leton, was thrilled to help Tarleton’s national title-winning team last year. “Coaching, the facility, and above ev erything, the quality of practice, this place, in this environment, similar to

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