WT Rodeo to Induct Supporters, Prominent Alum at May 3 Banquet

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]

CANYON, Texas - A nationally renowned cowgirl, a revered coach, faithful supporters and more will be inducted into the West Texas A&M University Rodeo Hall of Fame at a May 2 banquet.

The banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m. May 2 in the Piehl-Schaeffer Pavillion in the Agricultural Sciences Complex on WT's Canyon campus.

Tickets are $50 and available here: wtamu.schoolauction.net/rodeobanquet26. They include dinner, drinks and dessert.

"We are honored to induct our second class of WT Rodeo Hall of Famers this year," said Coach Cody Joe Bonds. "We are beyond grateful for each person's contributions to the team, and this is the best way we know how to thank them. Our team is as strong as the community behind it, and this year's class represents that. We look forward to celebrating them."

The Hall of Fame, which launched in 2025, includes three categories: Alumni, Faculty/Staff and Supporter.

Mike Reid Settle, a 1961 WT graduate, is a National Cowgirl Hall of Fame cowgirl who claimed three National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association titles in barrel racing for WT (then West Texas State University) from 1959 to 1961.

Dr. Kelvin Sharp, who served as the WT rodeo coach from 1995 to 1999, and the late Dr. Dean Hawkins, who served as head of the Department of Agricultural Sciences from 2009 to 2014, will be inducted in the faculty/staff category. In addition to coaching, Sharp also worked as a mathematics faculty member and worked in the development office, and Hawkins' support was instrumental for the rodeo team, Bonds said.

Two area men also will be inducted as key supporters of the team.

Dr. Johnny Trotter, a Hereford native, played a significant role in the formation of The Spicer Gripp Memorial Youth Foundation, which makes an annual $100,000 donation for scholarships for ag students using proceeds from the Spicer Gripp Memorial Roping contest. Trotter has supported the rodeo team and other agriculture students for more than 20 years. In 2015, he was presented an honorary Ph.D. in ag business.

Mike Kuhlman, a Randall County rancher, was instrumental in the formation of the Three Star Memorial in honor of his late son, C.M. Kuhlman. Proceeds from the Three Star Memorial Roping benefit rodeo and ag scholarships. Mike Kuhlman and his brother, Gary, made a land legacy gift of nearly 43 acres of ranchland that will serve as the home for the WTAMU Foundation Research Feedlot and the Paul F. and Virginia J. Engler Foundation Feedlot Education Facility.

The banquet also will recognize current WT Rodeo team members and will feature a silent auction.

Team competition is one way in which WT creates in its students a commitment to being self-reliant, courageous, resourceful and part of something larger than one's self, as laid out in the University's long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which raised more than $200 million dollars, the largest such campaign in Texas Panhandle history.

About West Texas A&M University

West Texas A&M University is a Regional Research University in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers multiple options for students to graduate and succeed: 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor's and master's degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men's and women's athletics programs.

Photo: Assistant Coach Paige Brandon, left, and Coach Cody Joe Bonds emcee at the 2025 WT Rodeo Banquet.

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