Expert roper Fred Whitfield heads to campus

Eight-time world champion roper Fred Whitfield will visit the CSC Student Center Ballroom, 7-9 p.m., Thursday, March 27.

Admission is free and open to the public.

The event opens with a short meet-and-greet and formal presentation where Whitfield will discuss his newly released autobiography, “Gold Buckles Don’t Lie: The Untold Tale of Fred Whitfield.”

Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the venue, and Whitfield will be available for a book signing and autograph session, after his presentation.

Whitfield, also known as “Moon,” was born Aug. 5, 1967, in Houston.

He joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1990 and earned PRCA’s Resistol Rookie of the Year award. The next season, he captured the first of his seven world champion tie-down roping titles – 1991, 1995-96, 1999, 2000, 2002, and 2005. In addition to his 1999 tie-down roping world title, he became the first African-American to earn the PRCA’s all-around world title.

He has been inducted into several halls of fame, including the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, 2004; the Texas Cowboys Hall of Fame, 2003; and the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame, 2005. He was honored, also in 2005, in the National Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

“Gold Buckles Don’t Lie: The Untold Tale of Fred Whitfield,” recounts Whitfield’s journey from a poor, African-American youth in Cypress, Texas, to the 2012 National Finals Rodeo.

He details events in his life that have never before been revealed.

Student Activities Coordinator Laure Sinn and Garrett Lower, sophomore of Alliance, helped bring Whitfield to campus.