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The College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) is the super bowl of the College Rodeo Event in the USA. The event is held in June of every year since the year 2001. From its inception, the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) has been hosted in Casper, Wyoming. The event is held at the Casper Events Center, where both men and the women rodeo athletes compete. The apex of the event is usually the honor of becoming the national champions in their respective events. Today, the CNFR is one of the biggest events in the USA.
About College National Finals (CNFR)
To make sure that everyone involved with the CNFR is safe, the 2020 College National Finals Rodeo has been canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The event will not take place in 2020. However, it has been scheduled to return in June of 2021. Even so, the event will still be hosted in Casper, Wyoming, at the infamous Casper Events Center. Both men and women rodeo athletes compete for the honor of becoming national champions in their events.
This is in the spirit of retaining the value of the event where a Cowboy State plays host to the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR). Since its inception, CNFR has seen Casper welcoming 400+ best athletes for the college and university rodeo from all over the country at the Casper Events Center for a head to head national championship competition. The event included several events including these following;
- Steer wrestling
- Saddle bronc riding
- Bull riding
- Breakaway roping
- Bareback riding
- Tie-down roping
- Team roping
- Goat tying
- Barrel racing
These events are categorized for the male and female athletes and form the major events that determine where the championship goes.
How to watch CNFR on ESPN
The College National Finals Rodeo is officially broadcasted by ESPN in their ESPN3 channel live from the Casper Events Center in Casper, Wyoming. For the four nights, packed with nonstop action, ESPN3 begins at 7 p.m. (MDT). The channel (ESPN3) is a 24/7 live digital network. The channel is available on WatchESPN and also the WatchESPN app. Watching national rodeo online is the best choice for this time you can watch through the online channels. You can access the channel through the following devices:
- WatchESPN.com
- Fire TV
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- Roku Live
- Fire TV Stick
Check is your provider has access to the WatchESPN by visiting the WatchESPN.com about page.
COVID-19 Update
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) event has been canceled. The event organizers, which include both NIRA and the CNFR Committee, announced the cancellation of the main event of the 2020 College National Finals Rodeo that was to be held on June 14th – 20th.
The cancellation sites the need for public safety during this period, where the COVID-19 Pandemic is the most important concern for many sporting events.
About CNFR Cancellation
The cancellation is based on the Covid-19 pandemic containment measures. As such, The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) has voided the current membership. The 2019-2020 members will void their NIRA membership for the year due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Here is what NIRA outlined on their website. As a result of the cancellation of the 2019-2020 NIRA athlete memberships due to the Coronavirus Disease, the NIRA membership of every NIRA student member that was eligible during the 2019-2020 rodeo shall be void as of July 1, 2020.
However, the NIRA student members with voided memberships pursuant to the Covid-19 Rule will get an additional year of eligibility. The Rule eligibility set by NIRA.
Final Words
In line with the Covid-19 pandemic, NIRA has called off the 2020 College National Finals Rodeo event. The next event will be held in 2021. However, the NIRA athletes who are eligible to play in the 2020 games will retain an additional year of eligibility. This saves the games and also provides a place for every eligible athlete to compete in the College National Finals Rodeo.