Today@Sam Article

NBC To Take 'First Look' At SHSU Rodeo Team

Dec. 1, 2016
SHSU Media Contact: Teddi Cliett

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Rodeo coach Bubba Miller helps "1st Look" host Ashley Roberts prepare to participate in some of the rodeo events the team regularly competes in when Roberts and her crew visited the rodeo arena at Gibbs Ranch. The episode will air Dec. 4, following "Saturday Night Live." —Photo by Jeff Olsen

The Sam Houston State University Rodeo Team’s skills include calf roping, bull riding, steer wrestling and becoming nationally recognized on-air talent. 

The team, along with its adviser Bubba Miller and his family, will appear on NBC’s “1st Look,” an Emmy-winning lifestyle show that adventures across the country for good eats, entertainment and nightlife, on Sunday (Dec. 4), at 12:02 a.m., immediately following “Saturday Night Live.”

Ashley Roberts, the show’s host, ventured to Huntsville to live a day in the life of an award-winning SHSU rodeo team member.

Matthew Gordon, the show’s senior producer, said the idea to film southern rodeo life came from a theme of “dare me,” something Roberts doesn’t shy away from.

“Our host is an exciting woman who loves adventure,” Gordon said. “When you think of things that you would never do but might like to, riding bulls is an iconic dare.”

The episode was filmed at SHSU’s rodeo arena, where Roberts got a taste of what it takes to call herself a cowboy. She came face-to-face with a 200-pound steer, calf roped, barrel raced, and more. 

An Arizona native, Roberts has roots in the rodeo world and said her dad would be proud that she participated in the athletically demanding events. 

Additionally, Gordon said the Texas culture was just as rewarding.

“It took us back to a time of ruggedness and honor and the roots of America,” Gordon said.

Parts of the historic SHSU campus will make a cameo in the episode.

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