Wearing the signature black mask and flowing cape, Texas Tech junior Rose Rosas took the reins of Centennial Champion late in the spring semester, stepping into the spotlight as the university’s 64th Masked Rider—one of the most celebrated symbols in college athletics.
The Transfer of Reins ceremony, held at the university's McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center, marked Rosas’s official debut as the university’s 64th Masked Rider. For the Brady, Texas, native and first-generation college student, it was more than ceremonial. It was the realization of a dream forged in livestock pens, not show arenas.
“I didn’t grow up in a traditional ag background around horses,” Rosas said in a Texas Tech online press announcement, reflecting on her journey. “It really started off with livestock and showing livestock.”
Rosas, an animal and food sciences major in Texas Tech’s Department of Animal & Food Sciences, previously served as an assistant to both the 62nd and 63rd Masked Riders. She now assumes full duties, including leading the Red Raider football team onto the field — a tradition that has thrilled fans since 1954, when Joe Kirk Fulton first galloped onto the Gator Bowl turf in Tampa and electrified a national audience.
“No team in any bowl game ever made a more sensational entrance,” wrote Ed Danforth, the Atlanta Constitution sportswriter known as the dean of Southern sports journalism. That inaugural ride, capped by a 35–13 victory over Auburn, established a legacy now entrusted to Rosas.
The role of Masked Rider is far from symbolic. With loads of appearances annually, from football games and parades to classrooms and rodeos, the rider becomes a roving ambassador for the university and the spirit of West Texas.
“I would love to give back in my role as a Rider to the university,” Rosas said in a Texas Tech online news release. “Most importantly, I want to leave the program better than where I found it.”
The program, now in its seventh decade, demands not only poise in the saddle, but also an extraordinary commitment of time. Riders often make more than 350 public appearances a year with their equine partners, logging more than 15,000 miles a year. Generous support from donors and corporate sponsors ensures riders can uphold the tradition without financial burden.
CONTACT: Chance Brooks, Chair and Professor, Department of Animal & Food Sciences, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or chance.brooks@ttu.edu
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