By:  Madla                                            S.C.R. No. 67
                            SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, The year 1999 marks the National Intercollegiate
 1-2     Rodeo Association's (NIRA) 50th anniversary, and as this remarkable
 1-3     group has ties and traditions rooted deep in the heart of Texas,
 1-4     this event is especially worthy of special recognition; and
 1-5           WHEREAS, Half a century ago, in a room in the Baker Hotel in
 1-6     Dallas, 33 dedicated cowboys and cowgirls representing 13 colleges
 1-7     and universities in six states met and formed what has since become
 1-8     the nation's premier college rodeo organization; and
 1-9           WHEREAS, The idea for an official college rodeo circuit had
1-10     begun in November, 1948, at Sul Ross State University in Alpine;
1-11     after a series of organizational meetings the first College
1-12     National Finals Rodeo was held at the Cow Palace in San Francisco,
1-13     California, in April, 1949; and
1-14           WHEREAS, Texans were a commanding presence in the inaugural
1-15     rodeo competition that year; Sul Ross State University won the
1-16     national men's team championship and Sul Ross student Harley May
1-17     garnered the first individual all-around title; shortly thereafter,
1-18     on August 5, 1949, the NIRA was chartered in the Lone Star State
1-19     and Texas A&M's Charlie Rankin was elected as the group's first
1-20     president; and
1-21           WHEREAS, Texas, which has since adopted rodeo as its official
1-22     state sport, has maintained its strong presence on the college
1-23     rodeo front even as the steady growth in popularity of rodeo events
1-24     has taken the sport nationwide; today the NIRA boasts 137 college
 2-1     and university associates in 11 regions, with more than 3,500
 2-2     student members, and the organization hosts more than 100 college
 2-3     rodeos every year; and
 2-4           WHEREAS, The 1999 NIRA College National Finals Rodeo will be
 2-5     held in Casper, Wyoming, on June 13-19; with an emphasis on
 2-6     education, the "Rose Bowl" of college rodeos and its sponsors will
 2-7     distribute more than $200,000 in scholarships this year; and
 2-8           WHEREAS, One highlight of the upcoming finals event will no
 2-9     doubt be the "Golden" reunion of those hands that rode in the first
2-10     NIRA championship 50 years ago, for they and the organization they
2-11     built have traveled far in the past five decades; and
2-12           WHEREAS, With its unique place in history and geography,
2-13     Texas can lay claim to being the birthplace of rodeo, and the
2-14     efforts of the NIRA have proven indispensable in gaining
2-15     well-deserved recognition and acclaim for this beloved sport; now,
2-16     therefore, be it
2-17           RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas
2-18     hereby congratulate the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association
2-19     on the occasion of the group's 50th anniversary, and that the
2-20     organizers and sponsors of the 1999 NIRA College National Finals
2-21     Rodeo be recognized for their exceptional efforts in behalf of this
2-22     year's contestants as well as the group's founders and early
2-23     participants; and, be it further
2-24           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
2-25     prepared for the NIRA as an expression of highest regard by the
2-26     Texas Senate and House of Representatives.