To the Rodeo and Back

Two woman and a man in cowboy hats.
Jim Roberts, CEO of Granite Construction, middle, joins College of Architecture Dean Christine Theodoropoulos and College of Engineering Dean Amy Fleischer at the Poly Royal Rodeo Saturday. During the rodeo Granite, Caterpillar and Beavers Charitable Trust were honored for a combined $5 million gift to fund a new civil engineering-construction management minor.

While the Poly Royal Rodeo has always drawn huge crowds, rodeo coach and Cal Poly alumnus Ben Londo thought the crowds could be even bigger.

In this video, see how Londo worked with Jim Roberts, CEO of Granite Construction, to transform the Spanos Stadium into a rodeo arena — and how that eventually resulted in a $5 million donation from Granite, Caterpillar and Beavers Charitable Trust to fund
the Granite Heavy Civil Engineering and Construction minor.

The video also explores Londo’s rodeo history, with a look at Cal Poly’s own rodeo past, while offering a glimpse of how the stadium transformation works.

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