7MÊÓƵ

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Podcast: S8 Ep. 25
Date: September 09, 2025
Title: LU Moment: LU Rodeo Team presents Big Red's Roundup | S8 Ep. 25
Host: John Rollins

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JOHN ROLLINS: Welcome to the LU Moment, where we showcase all the great things happening with 7MÊÓƵ faculty, staff, students, and alumni. I'm John Rollins, Associate Director of Community Relations and Public Affairs here at LU, and I want to welcome you all to this week's show. Now, 7MÊÓƵ has a rodeo team, and here today to tell us about it—and an exciting new event for our university—we’ve got Dr. Gene Theodorei and Dr. Brian Williams. Gene and Brian, welcome to the show.

DRS. GENE THEODORI AND BRIAN WILLIAMS: Thank you for having us.

JOHN: Thank you. Glad to have you both. Alright, so Gene, the 7MÊÓƵ Rodeo Team is one of the newest student organizations we’ve formed here on campus. You are the head coach and faculty advisor, so tell us a little bit more about the team and how this all came about.

GENE: The rodeo team started as an idea last semester, when I was talking with a few students on campus who already compete in rodeo. We decided to form the 7MÊÓƵ Rodeo Team, which will be the first year LU has a rodeo team. The student-athletes will compete in 10 rodeos this academic year. Should they qualify, they will compete at the College National Finals in Casper, Wyoming, in June. This fall semester, our first rodeo is September 26–27 at Panola College, followed by a rodeo at Southwest Texas College in Uvalde. Then, Northeast Texas Community College in Mount Pleasant will host a rodeo, and McNeese State will have one on October 24–25. The fifth rodeo of the fall semester will be at Sam Houston State from November 6–8. We’re starting small this year, with a couple of female students competing in barrel racing. Over the course of this year, we plan to build the program and start recruiting both women and men to compete for us in the upcoming years.

JOHN: Fantastic. I love that. I think starting small is the way to do it—start with five, maybe five each semester, see how it goes, and then build up. You’ll be able to grow the team in the interim as well, correct? And you’ve got McNeese on the lineup—you know we always love our Battle of the Border around here. Gotta have that for sure. So, something else I noticed on the website: this rodeo team is part of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. What does that mean?

GENE: Well, the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association is the governing body for college rodeo, and the national office is in Walla Walla, Washington. There are about—just throwing this out there—135 colleges and universities that compete in college rodeo through the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. Here at Lamar, we’re part of the Southern Region. That means the schools I just mentioned are the ones we’ll be competing against. In the spring semester, we’ll have rodeos at Hill College, Wharton College, Texas A&M University—probably Texas A&M Kingsville—and Trinity Valley Community College. When you think about it, the Southern Region includes all the colleges and universities east of I-35, stretching over to the Lake Charles area, where we pick up McNeese State.

JOHN: Wide range for sure. Well, I love that we have that stamp of approval to be part of the NIRA, so that's fantastic.

GENE: We are a member school.

JOHN: Awesome. Go Lamar! Brian, let’s go ahead and chat with you really quick, and I’ll have both of you introduce yourselves. So, tell us a little bit more about yourself. We’ll talk about the Center for Resiliency a little later in the chat, but go ahead and introduce yourself.

BRIAN: Brian Williams. I’m the Executive Director for the Center for Resiliency. I’ve been with Lamar since 2017—I came in as a professor in Political Science and as the director of the Master of Public Administration program. In January, I took over as Executive Director for the Center for Resiliency. Working with Gene here on the rodeo team has a very strong connection to resilience, at least the way we define it. For us, resilience is all about a systems perspective—how the different pieces, like local government, business, healthcare, nonprofits, and local industry, work together on a daily basis. When something unexpected happens, those connections are already in place, which makes it much easier to get through challenges. It’s all about building a stronger, safer, and more connected community so that, when adversity strikes—whatever form it takes—we can get through it and come out better on the other side.

JOHN: Ready to face it with the resources available, right?

BRIAN: Absolutely. And building that is a continual process. Organizations are made up of people, and those people have their own issues—their own homes, their own responsibilities they need to manage—so they can take care of the organizations that, in turn, serve the community. People change, organizations change, so keeping those network and community connections alive is an ongoing, challenging process, especially when you’re talking about our four-county region. I base it off the Regional Planning Commission’s area—Jasper, Hardin, Orange, and Jefferson counties. There’s some overlap with Newton County because Jasper and Newton share a lot of resources. Chambers County also depends on some things from Jefferson County, mainly because a river separates them from the rest of their region. The community needs to be able to make those connections to thrive. For me, I see a connection with the rodeo team. Think about a rodeo team: for those who don’t know rodeo, there’s barrel racing, saddle bronc, bareback, bull riding, steer wrestling, team roping, calf roping—you have all these different events. And just like any other sport at 7MÊÓƵ, the team needs all these pieces working together. When I shared the Facebook post about the rodeo team on my personal page, a friend asked, “Brian, is this like real rodeo?” And my only response was, “Well, yes, it is. It’s as real as we want it to be—just like Lamar football is to real football.”

JOHN: That’s a great answer.

BRIAN: But it’s a team. The team has a standing, and it’s about getting all of those pieces to do their part—for the team, for the community. That’s why it’s all about the community and the team’s well-being, so the team can move forward and improve over time.

JOHN: Totally agree. So, Gene, that’s a nice segue into a big event we’ll be talking about in just a little bit. But first, would you like to introduce yourself, share your title and role here at Lamar, and tell us a little about what you all do?

GENE: Sure. I’m Gene Theodori, and I’m the Associate Provost for Academic and Research Administration. If you ask me what I do, well, I have a team of folks who work on Academic Affairs policy, and that comes out of my office. We develop policy in coordination with faculty and administration, revise academic policies, and rescind policies when they’re no longer effective. On the research side, we have a team that works with faculty to obtain grants. Extramural funding is really what the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs is all about—getting dollars from agencies, foundations, or any other entities that fund research projects or outreach programs. That’s what we do, and I’m very appreciative of the folks I get to work with every day.

JOHN: Absolutely, and very important research. We’ve received some designations recently for our research here at the university, so it’s definitely a key piece of the puzzle around here.

GENE: Yes, that announcement back in February—that we obtained our R2 status with the Carnegie Classification—was a big moment for 7MÊÓƵ.

JOHN: Absolutely. Well, thank you for your part in that. Now, we’re going to come back to Gene and talk about Big Red’s Roundup. What is it, when is it, and how can folks be a part of all the action?

GENE: Alright, so Big Red’s Roundup will be held on the campus of 7MÊÓƵ on Saturday, September 20. Hopefully, everyone listening to this podcast will come out and be a part of it! It’s going to be a great day. We’ll have a car show at the Spindletop Museum, a kids’ zone, food trucks, and live music throughout the day. The Center for Resiliency will be hosting an educational event, and then at 4 p.m. we’ll hold the Mutton Busting competition. At 5 p.m., professional bull riding will take place, followed by a local band performance. It’s going to be a fun day—bring the family, bring your friends, and come out to enjoy a full day of family fun!

JOHN: Let’s see—music, bull riding, food, kids’ activities… it’s going to be a full day! Brian, tell us a little more about the Center for Resiliency’s role. I know you all have a showcase happening that day, so let’s explain that to our listeners.

BRIAN: Yes, absolutely. So, the Center for Resiliency’s showcase is a Community Resilience Showcase. The idea is to bring together nonprofits, government entities, and other supporting elements from across the community. This gives those organizations the opportunity to connect with each other, and it also allows them to do their work for the community. At the Center for Resiliency, we focus on the organizational level—supporting these groups so they can serve the populations they support. We already have a number of nonprofits lined up. Some are what you would consider “typical” nonprofits, and others, like CASA, fill gaps in the social network. They provide services to people who are already vulnerable. The faster we can get these organizations back up and running after an event, the better. For example, Meals on Wheels feeds people who may not have a three- to five-day food supply at home. Supporting these nonprofits ensures that they can continue their work, because they are passionate about what they do and are filling needs that local government or the market doesn’t provide. We’ll also have disaster-related organizations at the showcase, such as the Jasper County Long-Term Recovery Group. Other participants include LifeShare, which will be running a blood drive—something vital not just during emergencies, but every day.

JOHN: There’s going to be a lot going on at this event.

BRIAN: There’s going to be a lot happening. We’ll have the Jefferson County Office of Emergency Management there, and we’re also looking to include a few state organizations and agencies.

JOHN: Folks who attend this event can come to the Resiliency Showcase to see all the resources available in our community. But there’s also the entertainment factor—they can walk over and watch the Mutton Busting, the bull riding, and all the other exciting events. Stay for the live music, check out a food truck, enjoy the car show—there’s so much going on! So, how much does this cost?

GENE: The cost is $10. Admission for everything is totally affordable. 7MÊÓƵ students and LIT students get in free with a valid ID.

JOHN: Hey, you can’t beat that—come on out for free! Let’s go over this one more time: the date, time, location, and any other details. You can also visit lamar.edu/rodeo to get your tickets or to find out how to become a sponsor. There’s all kinds of information there, including details about the Mutton Busting and how to sign up to participate.

BRIAN: I do believe for the Mutton Busting they need to sign up ahead of time, correct?

GENE: Yes, yes. Very important—you must pre-register. No walk-ups.

JOHN: Be sure to register for that! Let’s go over the date, time, and location one more time, and then we’ll wrap up.

BRIAN: Oh, hey—one more thing. Any bull riders out there who want to sign up can still jump on board and get involved.

JOHN: Literally, jump on board. Come on over, right on over.  Alright, Gene and Brian, thanks again for joining me. It’s been a great chat. And everybody, please come out and attend our event on Saturday, September 20, here on the Lamar campus.

GENE & BRIAN: Thank you very much.

JOHN: Absolutely. As we wrap up another episode, please make sure to search LU Moment wherever you get your podcasts. This is John Rollins, your host. Thank you for listening, and we’ll talk to you next time.