Founded in 1923 as Texas Technological College, the rodeo team would compete with other groups in the area until the formation of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) in 1949. Texas Tech's first rodeo team in 1947 won the first Texas Intercollegiate Rodeo held at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. This first rodeo was such a success that the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) was soon formed.