The 'legend' Jerome Robinson: Inside PBR's personal connection to CSU, Fort Collins

PBR's first stop in Fort Collins wasn't just good business or getting a foothold in a new market.

Despite never stopping in town before, there's an intensely personal connection between PBR and Colorado State University.

That connection comes from legendary rodeo man and longtime PBR arena director Jerome Robinson, a CSU alum and "founding father" staple of the bull-riding community.

Robinson passed away in 2022 at the age of 74. But he lived in Fort Collins for much of his life and was an ardent supporter of the sport, especially the CSU team for which he competed during his Ram days.

"He was simply a good dude, one of those salt of the earth people," PBR senior vice president Robert Simpson said of Robinson. "Jerome was a legend, known to almost everyone involved in this industry."

PBR and CSU teamed up throughout the landmark two-day Last Cowboy Standing event in Canvas Stadium to raise money in Robinson's honor by establishing the Jerome Robinson Legacy Fund.

It's going to help pay for scholarships, travel funds and operational needs for the CSU rodeo team, one of the country’s longest-running college rodeo programs.

PBR's Last Cowboy Standing event that required large-scale temporary transformations to CSU's Canvas Stadium couldn't have happened without decades of groundwork Robinson laid in the sport.

The western Nebraska native wore just about every cowboy hat in the rodeo world.

Thinker. Innovator. Rider. Producer. Promoter. Entertainer.

Robinson rode at CSU in the late 1960s and then professionally for over 13 years and qualified for the National Finals Rodeo 11 times. After his riding days, he pioneered the bull-riding experience and helped turn it into the big-money, high-stakes spectacle that PBR has become.

In the 1970s, Robinson modernized the rodeo scoring system with PROCOM, a centralized computer system for rodeo scoring entries. He ran his own production company out of Fort Collins and also joined PBR as Arena Director.

Through that role, he managed nearly every aspect of Professional Bull Rider performances nationwide for over 30 years. Robinson is credited with cementing PBR as the "toughest sport on dirt" and bringing bull riding to the masses.

"Just the concept, covering the (Canvas Stadium) field, doing it in the stadium, all these grand production parts, it’s just carrying on his tradition," Simpson said.

"To do this in his hometown, with an innovative event like this? That’s special for us."

That was true throughout the rodeo and PBR community. But it was also true for his family.

"He would have been thrilled to see what happened,” wife Dorya Robinson said in a colostate.edu article. “He never forgot his connection to CSU.”

PBR honored Robinson during a special mid-rodeo ceremony on night two (July 22) of the Last Cowboy Standing event, adding its own $25,000 donation to the legacy fund with Dorya and other family on stage with CSU brass.

Simpson, a Colorado native, said Robinson was "absolutely" dedicated to living and staying in the Centennial State throughout his distinguished career.

"He was so proud to be from here. He could have moved to Texas and 'Cowboy Country' but he stayed here close to his roots at CSU," Simpson said.

Known for a jovial but professional personality, Robinson left behind a massive legacy in the sport. He's a member of just about every major PBR, rodeo or bull-riding Hall of Fame.

And much of it started here in Colorado. Right down to a famous family story of a 3-year-old Robinson telling his mother that he would ride bulls when he grew up after seeing a rodeo at the Denver Coliseum.

So bringing PBR to Fort Collins was about more than business. It doubled as a personal tribute to Jerome Robinson.

"Who would have thought? We’re riding bulls on a turf field at CSU," Simpson said.

"Jerome would have loved everything about it."

Jerome Robinson during the first round of the Billings PBR 25th Anniversary Unleash the Beast in 2018.

Chris Abshire covers high school and community sports for the Coloradoan.