Chad Ramirez has consistently kept Southwestern Oklahoma State University among the nation’s top collegiate rodeo teams since taking over head coaching duties in 2001 from legendary coach Don Mitchell. In the five years under Ramirez’s leadership, the Bulldogs have continued to dominate the Central Plains regional circuit and have time and time again sent both teams and individuals to compete for an even greater prize at the Collegiate National Finals Rodeo.

An Arizona native, Ramirez is a SWOSU graduate and transferred to the school after helping Odessa College to the 1989 CNFR team championship. At SWOSU, Ramirez was a member of the school’s back-to-back national championship teams in 1992 and 1993 under coach Mitchell.

Ramirez would later join Mitchell’s coaching staff in 1993 as an assistant and remained until leaving to rodeo professionally. He later was hired as a cowboy stuntman for Disneyland Paris in 1996. In the next three years, Ramirez was cast in more than 2,000 shows for the Disneyland’s “Wild West Show,” performing in front of European royalty, celebrities and thousands of others.

Ramirez then returned to SWOSU and rejoined Mitchell on the rodeo staff as an assistant coach and helped the Bulldogs to their fourth men’s national championship in 1999.

Ramirez completed his master’s degree from SWOSU in 2001 and that year was named only the school’s second-ever rodeo coach, replacing Mitchell who retired after 34 years as head coach.

chad.ramirez@swosu.edu
(580) 774-3710