Three Rivers College to consider rodeo team; public meeting Tuesday night

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Three Rivers College would like to hear from the public as it investigates the possibility of starting a rodeo team.

A meeting to gather input will be at 6 p.m. today at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center. Expected to attend are college president Dr. Devin Stephenson, vice president for student success Jason Hoseney, members of the board of trustees and Andy Carter, a former college rodeo coach from Ellsinore, Mo., who brought the suggestion to Three Rivers.

"This is completely new to us at the college, and we are going in open to the idea," Hoseney said. "We want to hear from the community if they think this is a good idea. It is not uncommon to have a community forum of this nature when the college is looking to move in another direction."

Carter will present information on the steps it takes to start a rodeo team, as well as events the team could participate in, Hoseney said. College officials would also like community members to share their opinions.

"Anecdotally, it sounds like there are a lot of people in Southeast Missouri interested in and participating in rodeo," Hoseney said.

He warned funding could be a concern.

"In these tight budget times, it is probably not something we can fully fund," Hoseney said. "We will probably look to the community for resources. Part of this forum is to see what assistance might be out there."

No decisions are expected to be made on the subject without further review.

"We have to explore all of our options and make sure we have 100 percent support from all of the stakeholders," Hoseney said, adding, "We are a community college and we need cooperation from the community to make a program like this successful."