Aggie rodeo team scholarships aid in recruiting better athletes.

By Kara Socol

Robert T. "Bob" Handley ’67 has never competed in a rodeo. In fact, until recently, Handley -- the retired owner of Tarlton Supply, an oilfield equipment company in Brenham -- had little interest in even watching one.

His close friend Al B. Wagner ’69 LOVES the sport. He was a steer wrestler and bareback rider on the Texas A&M rodeo team from 1965-69. And when the team needed an adviser in 1996, Wagner, a food science professor, signed on.

For years, Handley watched Wagner work with the team, which receives no money from the university. Then Handley and his wife, Vicki, decided to help. They created a $1 million endowment for rodeo club scholarships in Wagner’s name. "This endowment was a great way to help A&M and to put a feather in Al’s cap," Bob Handley said.

Team members must raise money for two annual campus rodeos, pay for their own horse stalls and feed, and provide their own practice livestock. Many competing schools cover these expenses.

Seeing the Results

The Handleys’ endowment created the A&M rodeo club’s six largest scholarships. Between their gift and the generosity of donors such as the San Antonio Livestock Show and Exposition, Robert Coffin ’47, Frank Foster ’52, the late Shorty Fuller ’43, the late James E. "Punk" Sauls ’49, and friends of the late Tom Lewis ’77, Wagner now has many scholarships for his 35 team members.

He can compete in recruiting against regional rodeo powerhouses such as Tarleton State University in Stephenville. "Word has gotten out that A&M has scholarship money, so people are calling and inquiring," Wagner said.

Texas A&M senior Courtney Sokol ’09 of Brenham is one of the first Dr. Al B. Wagner Scholarship recipients. She competes in barrel racing and breakaway roping, an event akin to calf roping. She has finished as high as fourth nationally.

The Handleys’ scholarships help her and the team, Sokol said: "We’ve been able to compete with better athletes on our team because we’re able to recruit against other schools." This article is an excerpt from the article "Saddle Up" in the summer 2009 issue of Spirit magazine. Read the full article.

If you’d like to help the rodeo team, contact Cindy Munson at the Texas A&M Foundation at (800) 392-3310.