The Tarleton State University Alumni Association is hosting the first Tarleton Night at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Student are encouraged to go out to the stock show Friday, Feb. 1, to join in on the fun of Tarleton Night. With the new Tarleton Fort Worth campus opening in the fall, Director of Alumni Engagement Jessica Evans, is finding any way to get the Tarleton name out. 

“We have hosted an Alumni reception at the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame museum for the past several years,” Evans said. “Tarleton night at the Rodeo following this annual event is a great way to tie the events together, especially with it being the last year that the rodeo is held in this location.” 

There will be an Alumni Reception prior to the rodeo at 4-6 p.m. and then the association is encouraging the students to go enjoy the rodeo at 7:30 p.m. The reception will be held at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, at 1720 Gendy Street Fort Worth, TX 76107. 

“The reception is a tradition of Tarleton and serves as an opportunity for Alumni to meet and reconnect. We’ve been hosting this reception for many years and it is anticipated by alumni every year,” Evans said. 

The Alumni reception is open to former and current alumni members and there will also be forms for recent graduates to sign up for. The reception is open to current Tarleton students, as Evans wants students to experience what the association is all about. 

“We want to show the current student body what it is that the Alumni Association stands for, how we are involved and ways that we give back,” Evans said. “It’s a great way for current students to see what being an Alumni of Tarleton is all about.” 

To enter the reception a ticket is not needed; however, students and alumni members will need to pay to enter the Stock Show grounds. You can purchase these tickets for $30, by visiting tarletonstate.us/FWrodeo or by calling 254-968-9682. The rodeo starts at 8:30 p.m. in the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum. Alumni Association President, Ken Dorris has reserved a section just for Tarleton. According to Evans, the section has already sold out and is hoping that this event continues to grow and expand with each upcoming year. Even thought that the section is sold out, there is plenty of room in coliseum for students to attend and support Tarleton at the Rodeo. 

“Tarleton has always had and continues to have a great presence at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo,” Evans said. “From current students competing in the arena at the rodeo, to current students helping ringside at the many stock show events that are happening each day in the numerous barns covering the grounds. There are also a great number of alumni present in the form of Ag teachers with their students and their various projects.” 

Evans wants to continue to grow Tarleton’s presence in Fort Worth. 

Evans encourages students and alumni members to come out and wear your purple and support Tarleton. “Come out and be a part of Tarleton Night at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and join Tarleton and the Tarleton Alumni Association at the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Museum and then follow us on over to watch the rodeo in the Will Rogers Coliseum,” Evans said. “It will be a great night to be a TEXAN!” 

According to the Tarleton website, the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo has control of all surrounding surface lots and parking facilities for the duration of the FWSSR. Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo Parking Fee for all surface lots and facilities is $10.00 per vehicle (no ‘in and out’ permitted). The Stock Show Parking Booths accept CASH ONLY, no credit cards, debit cards or checks.