Sul Ross State University Rodeo Coach C.J. Aragon will be inducted into the Idaho Rodeo Hall of Fame in October.
A native of Idaho, Aragon came to SRSU in Fall 2018. When he arrived, there were seven rodeo athletes on the team compared to more than 50 now.
Aragon won his first buckle at a dummy roping in 1984 at the age 10 of as a member of the Southern Idaho Junior Rodeo Association.
A 1993 graduate of Kamiah High School in Kamiah, Idaho, he qualified for the state finals four times each in Team Roping, Tie-Down Roping and Steer Wrestling. He won the Team Roping District Championship a total of four times and the Steer Wrestling District Championship a total of three times.
His senior year, Aragon was the State Champion Team Roper and was named the Idaho Cowboys Association Rookie of the Year in both Team Roping and Steer Wrestling, qualifying for the finals multiple times in both.
Aragon was a member of the first National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) team at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. He was a three-time qualifier for the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) and the 1998 Reserve National Champion Steer Wrestler.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism in 1998 from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces and a Master of Coaching Education from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, in 2018.
As a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), he is a 15-time qualifier to the Turquoise Circuit Finals Rodeo and qualified for the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo. He was a member of the USA National Team, traveling internationally from 2006-2007.
Aragon began coaching at Mesalands Community College in New Mexico in 2007, where he was named the National Coach of the Year in 2010 and the NIRA Grand Canyon Region Coach of the Year from 2007-2011.
He then coached at Odessa College from 2013-2018, during which time he was named the Southwest Regional Coach of the Year and the three-time Western Junior College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
He has coached over 40 Idaho students on his college teams, including SRSU’s Tristen Hutchings, the two-time CNFR Bullriding Champion and three-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier, Timmi Hutchings, Layne Ward, J2 Bridges, Ty Nuffer and Shelby Logan.
Aragon served as the CNFR Time Event Chute Boss from 2008-2021 and the NIRA Rules Committee Chairman from 2008-2013. He is currently the CNFR Arena Director and a member of the NIRA Board of Directors.
For more information, email clint.aragon@sulross.edu or visit www.sulross.edu/rodeo.
Photo: C.J. Aragon