Cryer Resigns PCAA Post to Become Professional Rodeo Commissioner

Lewis Cryer, Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. commissioner for the past 10 years, has resigned to become the first commissioner of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assn.

Cryer, a resident of Irvine, said he will assume his new duties in mid-January after he moves to Colorado Springs, Colo., site of the rodeo association headquarters.

Dennis Farrell, assistant PCAA commissioner since 1980, has been named interim commissioner. Farrell, 36, lives in Mission Viejo.

Cryer announced his decision at the national professional rodeo finals Saturday at Las Vegas while the California Bowl--the climax of the PCAA football season--was being played at Fresno.

“I am looking forward to the challenge of working as the first commissioner in the history of the sport,” Cryer, 45, said. “The PRCA continues to grow in prizes and numbers of events and national exposure.”

The PRCA, which is 51 years old, sanctions approximately 630 rodeos annually and $20 million in prize money. Cryer will be the association’s chief negotiator in television and scholarship activities.

Cryer supervised the growth of the 10-member PCAA from a statewide to regional conference, with the addition of Utah State, Nevada Las Vegas and New Mexico State. Before his position with the PCAA, Cryer was associate athletic director at the University of Oregon and University of the Pacific.