Alpha Psi Rodeo Draws Thousands To Auburn; Alan Jackson To Perform

AUBURN | Around 15,000 people travel from across the continent Saturday to attend one of the biggest annual events in Auburn: Alpha Psi Rodeo.

Alpha Psi, the University College of Veterinary Medicine Auburn fraternity organized the first Rodeo in 1965. The event this year will be the 50th birthday of the fraternity.

Andrew Gilliland, President Alpha Psi Rodeo, said the event has grown dramatically since its inception.

"The first rodeos were just people from the veterinary school," Gilliland said. "It was Alpha Psi and students of veterinary school . History of it, to be a little more specific, is that it fell right before exams. Vet School curriculum is crazy, and they did it as a kind of recreational thing before the end, to get your mind off school work. "

Gilliland said that in the last 4 or 5 years, Rodeo has grown drastically. This year, the fraternity sold tickets to California, Canada and parts of Europe.

Tickets are required for admission to the event, held in a field off Sand Hill Road in Auburn.

Each year, all 15,000 tickets for the event are exhausted. Young people around the country bring coolers, flags and country attire to see the rodeo. In recent years, the event culminated in a concert, bringing the most popular artists, including the act of this year, Alan Jackson.

“We are a group of country boys anyway, but has become a bigger thing, from year to year," said Gilliland. “We will always remain part of the same herd, regardless, because that is the root and foundation of it.”