Rodeo Awards Texas College Students with $1.2 Million in Achievement Scholarships

HOUSTON, TX -- The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo awarded 100 deserving Texas students with $1.2 million in additional educational funding through the Rodeo’s Achievement Scholarship program. The Achievement Scholarships are awarded to current Rodeo scholars who are working toward an undergraduate degree, have completed four semesters and at least 60 hours of coursework and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher at a four-year university.


“In an era of rising tuition costs and increasing student debt, the Achievement Scholarship was created to help the most dedicated of our scholars across the academic finish line,” said Joel Cowley, Rodeo president and CEO. “The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is very proud to further support these talented students as they progress toward their educational goals.“


Each student will receive a $4,000 scholarship for each eligible semester. Of the 100 scholarship recipients, 12% are first-time high school graduates and 31% are first-time college attendees. These scholars currently attend 15 different Texas colleges and universities, and the top six schools represented are: Texas A&M University, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas Tech University, University of Houston, Stephen F. Austin University and West Texas A&M University. These students also represent several different fields of study. The top five chosen majors are animal science, nursing, agricultural communications, biology and business. The Rodeo has awarded more than $8.4 million in Achievement Scholarships since the program began in 2013.


Achievement Scholarships represent a portion of the Rodeo’s annual commitment to Texas youth and education. In 2019, the Rodeo committed more than $27.17 million to scholarships, junior show exhibitor support, educational program grants and graduate assistantships. Additional information about the Rodeo’s educational commitment can be found here: rodeohouston.com/Educational-Support/Commitment.