Wyatt Clark has been named as the new coach of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Rodeo team. He will begin his new position on September 18.
Clark comes to Lincoln after a successful stint as the coach for the rodeo team at Mid-Plains Community College in McCook, Neb. He helped the team qualify seven individuals to the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) and also helped produce the 2022-23 Great Plains Regional Rodeo of the Year. Two team members also earned National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) Scholar American honors. Prior to his time at Mid-Plains Community College, Clark served as an assistant coach at Chadron State College for two seasons.
"I'm excited to lead and develop the University of Nebraska-Lincoln student-athletes and to make Lancaster County my home," said Clark. "I'm very thankful for my previous opportunities with the NIRA, including my great experience at MPCC the past two seasons. I want to thank Deborah VanOverbeke and the hiring committee for the opportunity and it is an honor to be named the head coach of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Rodeo Team."
Before his pursuit of coaching, the Wellfleet, Neb., native was a back-to-back Nebraska High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA) champion in bareback riding and placed in the top four at the National High School Finals Rodeo and the International Finals Youth Rodeo, while earning a National Little Britches Rodeo Association all-around cowboy and bareback riding world titles.
After high school, Clark competed in bareback and saddle bronc riding, qualifying for the CNFR in bareback riding in 2010. After graduating from EWC, he transferred to the University of Wyoming and returned to the CFNR in bareback riding, finishing in fourth place in 2013. His final trip to the CFNR was in 2014 while at Chadron State pursuing a master's degree.
He earned his Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) permit in 2009 and his card in 2015. In 2014, he qualified for the PRCA Permit Holder of the Year Challenge, finishing fourth in the bareback riding. He also finished fourth in the bareback riding at the Chisholm Trail Ram Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo that same year. He continues to team rope at various events, trains rope horses and gives back to the sport of rodeo as a judge for the PRCA, NIRA, Mid-States and Nebraska Rodeo Associations.
