A graduate and former rodeo team member of Colorado Mesa University, Branden Edwards has taken over the position of head coach as of the fall semester of 2018. An avid team roper, Branden has also served as board member and vice-president of the Colorado Professional Rodeo Association; a position he only stepped away from to give his full energy to coaching, competing, and his craft as a rodeo announcer which annually takes him coast to coast as a part of the rodeo culture of America. Having competed from the High School level to the PRCA, he understands what it means to practice and win as a participant, while his work over the last 10 years giving instruction at camps and one-on-one sessions allows him to convey those same lessons to his students and team members. Branden still holds his PRCA card as a contestant on top of his work as an announcer, where he has been the Colorado Pro Announcer of the year from 2019-2021.
While in his current role Branden has continually raised the bar for the CMU Rodeo team. Since his hiring each subsequent year has seen increases in recruiting class size as well as fundraising programs for scholarship designations. Branden currently stays involved with his community as an advocate for rodeo and the western heritage while holding positions with the Mesa County Sheriff Posse. He lives in Grand Junction with his wife and assistant coach Tia, who attended college on a rodeo scholarship and was the Rookie of the Year and finals qualifier in the CPRA. They have two sons, Grady Kent Edwards and Austin Gary Edwards.
