The Tarleton State University Rodeo team kicks off their season this weekend, Sept. 15-17 at Eastern New Mexico State University in Portales, New Mexico.

The Tarleton Rodeo team, led by Head Coach Mark Eakin, first began in 1947, and most recently were named Rodeo National Champions in 2015. Their events include bull riding, calf roping, bareback riding, saddle riding and many more.

With 137 members, this year is the largest rodeo team in its history.

“I’m very excited for this year’s team,” said Trevor Ervin, Assistant Rodeo coach. “We have a lot of talent that I’m looking forward to seeing where we go this year.”

The rodeo has a total of 10 rodeos per year, leading up to Nationals in June. The 2017 Nationals will be in Casper, Wyoming. To qualify for Nationals, they take the top three people in each event and take the top two schools overall.

After this weekend’s rodeo, the team will travel to Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas on Sept. 22-24.

The livestream link for this week’s rodeo can be found at www.southwestregionrodeo.com.