by Travis Hendryx, Director of Marketing and Communication

At just 19 years of age, Sul Ross State University sophomore bull rider Ky Hamilton (Mackay, Queensland, Australia) is among the Top 10 in the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) Ram World standings.

Hamilton is currently ranked eighth in the standings according to the PRCA website.

He scored an 80-point tally to win the Buffalo Stampede PRCA Rodeo held September 20-21. Hamilton then polled 83.5 points and finished third at the Amarillo Tri-State Fair And Rodeo held September 19-21 and claimed a second place finish with 74 points at the Southern New Mexico State Fair and Rodeo September 27-28.

On the college circuit, Hamilton scored 170 points to win the bull ride at the Frank Phillips College Rodeo held October 10-12 at Canadian.

Hamilton is a transfer from Odessa College and came to Alpine with former OC and first-year Sul Ross head coach C.J. Aragon.

“I came to Sul Ross because of coach Aragon and his knowledge of the sport of rodeo,” Hamilton said in an interview last fall. “He has high expectations for the program and instills a work ethic that will take the rodeo team to where it needs to go.”

Hamilton’s next competition will be in Denver, Colorado on Saturday, January 18.

Cowboy and cowgirl athletes are eligible to compete in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) and the PRCA circuits simultaneously.

The NIRA was established at Sul Ross on November 6, 1948. Sul Ross Rodeo Club president Hank Finger worked with a committee to develop eligibility guidelines, scholastic standards and rodeo structure.

The committee created a format for intercollegiate rodeo that would remain consistent throughout the country and provide national recognition for their constituents.