ProRodeo Sports News 2023 Year-End Edition

PRCA OVERVIEW

From the CEO BY TRACY RENCK T om Glause, PRCA’s Chief Executive Officer, highlighted the numerous positive things that happened in the organization

Glause talks about 2023 as a ‘phenomenal year’

became the wildcard and the top four places in Puyallup were guaranteed a position in Sioux Falls and the format proved exceptionally lucrative, and it was well-received. It was designed to keep cowboys rodeoing. If you were between 25th through 30th with our old system, you really didn’t have a reason to keep going. You go to Puyallup, but there’s no way you were going to catch the top 12 in terms of points. “We came up with a concept that those who made the final four we would see them into Puyallup and then advanced the next eight in terms of points and it really helped keeping guys rodeoing. Not only did it help on the top end, but we also seeded the NFR Open Champion into the wildcard round in Puyallup, so it gave a boost to circuit rodeos and a boost to all membership.” Glause made mention of the second annual Resistol Rookie Roundup in Fort Worth, Texas, as a positive event in the PRCA. “We bring the rookies in and give them a chance to compete against themselves, and we provide media training and really focus on the rookies,” Glause said. “This is the future of our sport, so we started to highlight this with them.” Glause also noted how the Xtreme Broncs Finals in Rapid City, S.D., had the largest payout ever in terms of bronc riding at $106,000. “That record didn’t last long as it was broken at Newtown, so I would expect that will generate more competition and that we will see another record at the (Xtreme Broncs Finals) next year,” Glause said. “Another event where we focus on our new members, young members is our Permit Finals in Waco, Texas. The top five in that Permit Finals advanced into the Permit Challenge in Las Vegas during the NFR. The Xtreme Bull Riding Finals

in 2023 during his State of the PRCA address at South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa Grand Ballroom, Dec. 5, in Las Vegas. “By all accounts, it has been a phenomenal year,” Glause said. “Our membership is up, our prize money is up, our viewership is up, sponsorship is up. In all categories, we are making marked improvement, but it has not come without challenges.” Glause pointed out the good news – like with “We are seeing our members come back,” Glause said. “During COVID (in 2020) we lost members like every sporting association did, but we slowly started to climb and build membership back in 2021 and in 2022 we were happy to have reached 6,000 members and this year we are at 6,600 members. “That’s the most members we have had in over a decade. I’m really proud of the growth we are seeing here, and we are projecting that trajectory with growth will continue and it is just not one event that we are seeing growth. Over the last three years we have seen growth in numbers of members in every single event. “Where we need members the most in bareback riding, we have seen a 70-member increase. We have really focused on the bareback riding, and we are seeing the labor of that payoff in new entries, and there just not new members, this rookie class (of 2022) in bareback riding is the most competitive class of rookie bareback riders that I think we have ever had in the association.” membership.

PRCA CEO Tom Glause talks to the crowd in attendance during his State of the PRCA address at South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa Grand Ballroom, Dec. 5, in Las Vegas. PRCA ProRodeo photo by Clay Guardipee

had a record payout of $120,00.” Financially, Glause said the PRCA is forecast to be over $43 million in revenue in 2023. “That growth is coming from sponsorship and media,” Glause said. “We are not growing revenue to pad our bank accounts we are putting this money right back into membership. We are focused on growing membership. What we have left over, we are putting back into capital improvements at the office, with the No. 1 goal being to migrate our IT systems to a modern platform. “We are really proud of who our sponsors are and how they align with our vision and our way of life. We think we bring real value. One of things I’m most proud of is our legacy and longevity with sponsors.” Glause said TV has been a boom for the PRCA. “We are seeing that same growth on TV with a huge increase from 2021 to 2022 in the number of events that we see televised,” Glause said. “That’s largely based on viewership. There’s an appetite and demand for rodeo on TV. We saw a five percent increase in the number of events (to 916 performances), ‘Thank you Patrick Gottsch’ (of the Cowboy Channel). The creation of Cowgirl Channel has also increased our viewership.” In closing, Glause added the following: “We continue to gain momentum and we are in a great place,” he said. “Our sport is thriving. By all accounts we are thriving.”

Glause said the membership pipeline begins getting filled at the permit level and in 2023 there was a record number of permit holders at 1,979. “Our number of (rodeo) events continues to grow but at a slower rate, and it is by design that we are trying to grow at a slower rate,” Glause said. “We want to make sure that as we add new events, we certainly have members and entries for these events. We reached 790 total events in 2023 that is up 19 from 2022.” Glause was especially happy to discuss the payout for 2023. “What’s most impressive is the payout we have seen. I would like to offer a ‘Thank You,’ to everyone in this room because largely we have seen over $4 million in new added money come into the association,” he said. “With new money comes more entries, more entry fees, and we have seen this growth occur. Historically, we had always been around a $50 million payout at the end of the season at the NFR. We had substantial growth last year at $65 million and after the NFR in 2023 our total payout for the season will be just shy of $75 million ($74,502,688). Glause mentioned one of the true successes in 2023 was the inaugural Cinch Playoff Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, S.D., which was held, Sept. 28 30. “In 2023, we went to a two-round system of playoffs, Puyallup (Wash.)

ProRodeo Sports News 12/22/2023

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