Flinn riding for the ENMU brand

In an ever-changing college sports landscape, where name, image and likeness deals, conference realignment and ladder climbing reign supreme, Eastern New Mexico University rodeo coach Albert Flinn is an outlier. 

This isn’t because he’s 83 and dons a bluetooth headset (yes, those still exist). 

Instead, it’s because he happily accepts getting paid half a typical salary – roughly $30,000 a year – to dedicate his life to lifting an underfunded program to national prominence. And instead of firing off social media direct messages to recruits he’s interested in, he typically contacts their coach and parents before having a conversation. He wants to make sure they’re good kids who’d leverage a scholarship into post-graduate opportunities. 

Entering his 18th season as ENMU’s head coach, Flinn hopes he can secure a national championship before his time at ENMU comes to a close. While the work has never failed to fulfill him, Flinn won’t feel truly ready to retire until he obtains it. 

We got to win a national championship,” said Flinn, an ENMU alum, who was a member of the reserve National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Southwest Regional Championship in 1968.

With that national championship, Flinn would be given pride of providing ENMU, a perpetual underdog, an upswing in success that leads to better recruits and more funds to compete at a high level. By winning, Flinn’s spirit will live on, even after his boots stop collecting Lewis Cooper Arena dirt. 

But as day one of the season’s first event – College “Daze” Rodeo, hosted by ENMU – illustrated, it won’t be easy. ENMU athletes struggled to keep up with regional powerhouses, including Tarleton State. 

Few can blame them, of course. TSU, for example, has the resources, cache and access to prized Texas recruits that ENMU doesn’t. Since 1947, the Texan Riders have won 37 national championships and, according to a 2023 Sports Illustrated article, TSU “implemented a new coaching hierarchy. Bringing in eight professional specialty coaches to help small groups of students in their individual events.”

Brittany Stewart, the women’s team head coach, told the publication that, “The new specialty coaches brought our team to a whole other level of competitiveness and overall advantages.”

ENMU, meanwhile, has just Flinn and first-year assistant coach Beau Dean, who competed at ENMU, finishing top-15 in the southwest region in steer wrestling in the 2022-23 season. 

“He knows his stuff,” Dean said of Flinn. 

While Dean is highly motivated and ambitious, he’s at a disadvantage because he doesn’t have the same prestige and knowledge as assistant coaches at other programs. Making matters more difficult, Flinn’s aware of how Dean’s low salary could lead him to leaving the program before he narrows that competitive gap. 

Flinn said, “the boy that I replaced, he was starving to death because he wasn’t getting paid enough to pay his bills – even if it’s not that expensive to live, but the university doesn’t have the kind of salary in the rodeo program.”

Flinn continued, “Now, one day they may get there, but they’re not there yet.”

But at least ENMU is closer than it was before Flinn’s arrival. 

A champion bareback rider as a youngster in Roswell, Flinn attended ENMU and played a vital role in bolstering the program from 1965-68. He competed, coached and even helped on the recruiting end. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree in ag business in 1968 – the national title year –  and master’s of business administration in 1970, Flinn enjoyed a 34-year career in the banking industry while keeping one foot in the rodeo world. 

Then, in 2008, newly retired Flinn accepted the head coaching position at ENMU. Not one for pocket watching, Flinn didn’t flinch at essentially getting paid half-time to work full-time and some overtime.  

The money wasn’t a reflection of his value. It was emblematic of his commitment to resuscitate a program he cherished. 

While the program has improved under Flinn, it’s become increasingly difficult to supplant other programs with robust facility, staff and recruiting budgets. 

To combat this, Flinn goes to high school rodeo championships in places like Hot Springs, Wyo., to look for recruits with lots of talent, but little interest. This way, he can find talent from places as far as Canada, without accumulating a lengthy traveling receipt that eats into his overall budget. 

He also relies on word of mouth. For example, ENMU’s roster features multiple pairs of siblings, including junior Shaeden and her older sister Shacie Marr, a fifth-year senior. Flinn sees Shacie, who competes in breakaway roping, barrel racing and goat tying as someone who could guide the Greyhounds to that championship. 

“He is a lot older, and he doesn’t have to do this. He could just retire and be done, but he still tries to help out and be there for us because he loves it and he cares about us,” Shacie Marr said of Flinn. 

The challenge with this year’s team is the heavy amount of young athletes. With time becoming limited, Flinn must hope they can take care of school while expediting their development. 

“They have to have some work ethic. I don’t have a mandatory practice session. Those who want to come and practice, they’re the ones that want to get better,” Flinn said, later adding, “Their education comes first.”

Time, in Flinn’s case, will always be a lingering issue. 

While he doesn’t have the same pressure to succeed as other ENMU head coaches, being a full-time coach and farmer is physically demanding – especially for an 83-year-old. 

But there’s something about chasing that title, churning out college graduates and restoring glory to his school that keeps him returning. 

“It’s a way of life,” Flinn said.