PRORODEO Sports News - June 1, 2026

CONSTANT GROWTH Since those early days, the Buccaneer Commission has grown to include more than 300 volunteers, 16 committees and seven full-time employees, all with the goal of giving back to the local community in South Texas. And the rodeo this past year paid out $450,000 from May 5-9, with equal money in the team roping and breakaway roping. “The group of volunteers put on an awe some event that’s contestant forward and fan forward,” Philipello said. “One of the challenges we struggled with, I think every event goes through, is how do you engage a fan that’s not interested in Western sports. And we’ve been able to tap into that. “We’ve seen growth in our ticket sales because of that, which translates into more prize money for contestants. Where we’ve really been successful is engaging our corporate community and sponsors and giving them value to bring their families and employees to come have fun. It’s taken the whole group to rally and focus and say, ‘Let’s go do it.’” The Buccaneer Commission always looked to invest in bettering Corpus Christi and the surrounding communi ties. But when the rodeo began, they didn’t have a scholarship program, instead they had a pageant to crown a Pirate Queen and took her and her family to Disneyland as a reward. But through the ARC, Dotts and other committeemen decided to invest in education instead. “All these rodeos that we were talking to Houston, San Antonio, Cheyenne, every body said you guys ought to do scholar ships,” Dotts said. “You wouldn’t believe how much that helps your sponsorships because all of those companies in our area have a bucket for education. So we institut ed our scholarship, and we’ve already given away about $3 Million in scholarships so far.” The Buccaneer Commission has also purchased houses for veterans and made mortgage payments on their behalf. This year, it partnered with Habitat for Hu manity to build a safe, affordable home for a Coastal Bend family on the festival grounds. The festival also hosts the Buc Days VEX Robotics Competition, which allows area middle and high school students to design, build and program robots to inspire the next generation of innovators.

Rocker Steiner dominated Rodeo Corpus Christi, winning the bare back riding cham pionship and becoming the new No. 1 bare back rider in the PRCA | Bill Fick Ford World Standings. The Weatherford, Texas native sealed his victory with a 91-point ride on Penthouse Pro Rodeo’s Watermel on Moons.

JUNE 1, 2026 PRORODEO SPORTS NEWS DIGITAL MAGAZINE 13