Pride not the only aim of these competitors

How would Tre'Von Willis feel if he received money for every 3-point basket he made? Or if Omar Clayton got paid for each touchdown pass he threw?

If the two high-profile UNLV athletes were in rodeo instead of basketball and football, they could get paid for performing well. We're talking legitimate, above-board bucks here.

In that regard, Jaymie Leach has a leg up on her on-campus athletic brethren. The senior from Roseburg, Ore., makes money competing for UNLV on the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association circuit, which has 93 schools participating.

A rodeo competitor can earn several thousand dollars a year, depending on the number of events entered and the number of competitors involved. The amounts vary from rodeo to rodeo but according to UNLV coach Ric Griffith, someone could win up to $1,800 on a good weekend, with an average weekend's earning of perhaps $700.

For Leach, she did better than that in 2009, earning approximately $10,000, which basically paid for her education and then some.

"The money's nice, but helping the team is what's important," said Leach, an elementary education major who is UNLV's top female competitor and one of the best collegiate barrel racers in the nation. "There's been a lot of success here and that was a big reason why I chose UNLV."

The program, which was started in 1991 thanks to the presence of the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, has produced some big-time cowboys. Two-time bull riding world champion Justin McBride competed at UNLV. So did current pro bull riders Ross Coleman and Colin McTaggart.

The women's team won the national championship in 2008 and 2009, and UNLV has had four national all-around champions and six single event national champions along with racking up 25 regional team titles.

"We're pretty proud of what we've accomplished," said Griffith, who helped start the team 19 years ago. "But we're also very selective as to who joins. We try to get the best of the best and we've turned down as many as 100 people in a year."

For those who do make the team (there are 11 women and seven men on this year's squad), it's an opportunity to get invaluable experience and perhaps parlay that into earning their Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association card.

Orie Lemmons transferred to UNLV from California's Feather River Community College last summer hoping to improve his skills and earn his PRCA card. The senior from Castro Valley, Calif., said it was easily the best move he ever made.

"It's been a real cultural challenge. I miss my family, but I've come a long way as a cowboy," said Lemmons, who is majoring in business. "My skills and horsemanship are so much better. I can see myself realizing my dream of going pro."

Lemmons and his teammates have been the beneficiaries of strong community support. Scholarships are provided for those in need. Thanks to help from local businessmen Michael Gaughan, Billy McInnis, Tom Collins, Ken Flippin and Las Vegas Events, the team's annual budget of $163,000 is covered. That includes the stabling, feeding and veterinary care of the horses and the stock, plus the travel costs of going to the competitions in California as well as the Collegiate National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo., every June.

"It costs approximately $8,000 for us to compete in a single rodeo," Griffith said. "There's no way we would be able to do it without the support of so many people in the community."

The team trains at Gaughan's Rockin' K Ranch in northwest Las Vegas. It's about as far from campus as it gets, but twice a week, team members gather and work on their skills.

Those skills will be on display May 7-8 when UNLV competes in the Western Regionals at the South Point Equestrian Center.

"Not too many people know about us," Leach said. "But the regionals will give people a chance to come see us."

And what they'll see is real rodeo: bull riding, steer wrestling, calf roping and barrel racing. They might even catch a glimpse of the next McBride or McTaggart.