Bulls & Beats event at Colorado State to start with all-star rodeo

The Bulls & Beats weekend at Colorado State University will feature a new Collegiate All-Star Rodeo.
The three-day event includes Professional Bull Riders competitions and concerts by Brad Paisley, Bailey Zimmerman, and Miranda Lambert.

The Bulls & Beats weekend July 10-12 at Colorado State University’s Canvas Stadium will kick off with the inaugural Collegiate All-Star Rodeo, organizers announced in a March 19 news release.

The all-star rodeo will take place before a concert featuring three-time Grammy Award-winning country music star Brad Paisley on the first of a three-night weekend event at CSU. Professional Bull Riders competition will take place the following two nights, with concerts afterward featuring country music stars Bailey Zimmerman on July 11 and Miranda Lambert on July 12.

The Collegiate All-Star Rodeo, sponsored by PBR and Learfield College Rodeo, will feature two teams of 30 college rodeo athletes apiece competing head-to-head in nine rodeo events. Athletes will be selected based on their regions by legendary rodeo figures Joe Beaver and Sid Steiner (North) and Trevor Brazile and Dale Brisby (South). Rosters will be announced in June, following the conclusion of the spring college rodeo season.

Rodeo athletes will compete for $180,000 in total prize money, one of largest single-event payouts in collegiate rodeo history, organizers said.

The team-based competition will feature head-to-head, one-on-one matchups in timed events (barrel racing, breakaway roping, team roping, tie-down roping, steer wrestling and goat tying) and one-on-one competition in a back-to-back format in roughstock events (bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding). The fastest time or highest score in each one-on-one matchup earns a point for their team, with three total points available per discipline.

The team earning the most points will be crowned champion, with its all-stars earning escalated prize money.

“The Collegiate All-Star Rodeo is a natural next step for evolving our new model of events in college stadiums and elevating college rodeo onto a national stage,” Sean Gleason, CEO and commissioner of PBR, said in the news release. “The combination of the highest level of rodeo competition, an iconic venue, and world-class entertainment will provide unprecedented exposure to collegiate rodeo athletes.”

The PBR events July 11 and 12 will match bull riders competing on two teams representing various cities across the country in head-to-head, five-on-five matchups.

PBR made its debut at CSU in July 2025, bringing its “Last Cowboy Standing” event to Canvas Stadium, drawing more than 25,000 people over two nights of competition and country music concerts.