A Western History: HSU’s Historic Rodeo and Fracas Week by: Marlee Sorrells

After 43 years, Hardin-Simmons University’s Western Heritage Day has become a beloved tradition among students and the Abilene community alike.

With approximately 4,000 elementary school students attending the event and several animals, the campus will be bursting at the seams with noise, cowboy hats, boots  and an extra helping of  some West Texas pride.

However, a lot of HSU students may not know that Western Heritage Day was not always the only event celebrating ranching and farming culture on campus. For over 50 years, students looked forward to attending the HSU rodeo by participating in a campus-wide event called Fracas Week.

“Fracas” means “a noisy disturbance or quarrel” and campus safely fit into that category. The celebration consisted of a parade in downtown Abilene complete with floats, rodeo queens and the wearing of western clothing. If someone chose to not adhere to the dress code, Sheriff Dee Windsor and his deputies enforced the law by putting them into a jail cell on campus. Some competitions during the week included a quick draw contest, roll your own cigarettes, cigar smoking, butter churning and tobacco spitting. Most of which would not be found anywhere near the college campus today.

Since the rodeo was such a big event, faculty and staff volunteered to work concession stands, prep the area, repair the bleachers, clean brush away and clean an area for judges to sit. The large turnout demanded the help from many people, just like our modern Western Heritage Day which is run almost solely by volunteers.

The HSU rodeo started in 1947 at an off-campus arena and stayed there until 1950, when the arena on Grape Street was built and was named after Carl Myer, a popular student and president of the HSU rodeo association who had recently passed away. The rodeo was created to allow students an opportunity to compete in a sport that resonated with the western culture and heritage of the community.

The HSU rodeo was an early success with 45 colleges and universities being invited to compete. This allowed the event to grow into a tradition that held through the 1990s.The HSU rodeo team found themselves crowned the National Champions in 1953, led by Dick Barrett, Joe Chase, Bill Teague, Gene Frazier and Lee Cockrell. 

Events in the rodeo included bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, calf roping, steer roping, barrel racing, girls breakaway roping, goat tie-down and steer wrestling. These were sure to draw a crowd to Grape Street, especially with the added chance to see celebrities such as Quail Dobbs, a rodeo clown who entertained at the National Finals Rodeo.

While HSU does not have the rodeo anymore, its history is scattered throughout campus. To see a banner from one of the rodeos hosted on Grape Street, students can visit the second floor Sandefer Memorial where one hangs up above the offices.

HSU has not lost its interest in western heritage and the related equine activities. The University has plans to build a large indoor equine facility complete with stalls, stands, classroom space and a gathering space for students. Hippotherapy, a type of therapy that involves riding horses, has also been added to the campus for physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.

This year, Western Heritage Day will be April 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. For more information about what will take place at the event this year, check out this story or https://www.hsutx.edu/info-for/community/western-heritage-day/. Be on the lookout for the book We Are Cowboys: 40 Years of Western Heritage Day set to release during Homecoming Week 2025, Sept. 28-Oct. 5.