Scott Grover of Minneapolis, Kan., will the action from the Will Rogers Stampede PRCA Rodeo for the sixth straight year.
| Grover, a Kansas State University graduate and former agriculture teacher and FFA adviser, began announcing this rodeo
his first year in ProRodeo in 2005.

Announcer Scott Grover shares passion, voice with Will Rogers Stampede

CLAREMORE, Okla. – No matter where he is or what he’s doing, Scott Grover will always look upon the Will Rogers Stampede Arena with great fondness.

“I tell everyone that this is the first ProRodeo I ever announced,” said Grover, a Kansan by birth but an Oklahoman by his relationship with the Claremore rodeo, which rolls into town from Friday, May 28, to Sunday, May 30, and will feature some of the greatest names in the game.

“I think what makes this rodeo so good is the history behind it. You think about the people that have been through tat place in its time. The people associated with the rodeo try to keep the old-time history alive there. And knowing that Clem McSpadden was part of that place for so long is very special to a lot of people.”

As the announcer, it’s Grover’s job to pass along the historical tidbits, mixing them with the action that features the brightest stars in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. It’s part of the entertainment package that is the Will Rogers Stampede.

And just like every other year, the folks in Claremore are expecting a who’s who of the sport’s greatest athletes, filled chock full of cowboys and cowgirls donning the trophy gold buckles given only to world champions.

“That rodeo draws the top guys for several reasons,” said Grover, who enters his sixth year calling the action. “Part of it is the time of the year that gets a great group of cowboys, but the bigger reason is probably hospitality and quality livestock.  Those two things make a cowboy remember a rodeo and draws them back. It’s not all about how much money they won there."   

Grover spits out facts like Google for the Will Rogers Stampede. He knows the venue, the town and the history well, something he got in his first four years of announcing the event with one of the legends in the sport, the late McSpadden.

“Clem was the legend, if you ask me,” he said of the Oklahoma icon that was born in Rogers County and called this part of the country home for almost all his life. McSpadden’s wife, Donna, still lives in their Chelsea, Okla., home and carries on the legacy of the lawmaker, statesman and one of the greatest names associated with the sport of rodeo.

“Clem and Donna were always so good to me,” Grover said. “When I came in here, I didn’t now anything. It was my first year in ProRodeo, and I was nervous as you can be. Clem and Donna always treated me well and taught me so much. The weekend of the rodeo is always a special weekend for me.”

Even after Clem McSpadden died in July 2008, those memories and that support system are a big part of who Grover is to this day and why he considers the Will Rogers Stampede such a special event. It’s not a bad life for a lifelong rodeo fan that got into this business because he spoke his mind at an event he went to while a sophomore in college at Beatrice, Neb.

“More or less, I told this lady at the barn that I could do just as good a job as the guy they hired,” he said. “She called me one night and told me to put up or shut up and be there at 11 o’clock the next morning. I kind of smarted off and earned a career, and I wasn’t even 21 yet.”

Grover graduated from North Central High School in Morrowville, Kan., before attending Southeast Community College in Nebraska. He then transferred to Kansas State University, was part of the rodeo club but didn’t compete.

Still, the passion for rodeo that he developed as a young child followed him into his career. After a few years teaching agriculture in high school, he set out to make rodeo his business, chasing his dreams like any other cowboy in the business. While some rope or wrestle or ride, Grover uses his eloquent voice.

“I think there’s a thrill,” said Grover, who said his sponsorship with Purina and United Country Realty has helped him in chasing his dreams. “I’m more comfortable behind the microphone in full coliseum than I am in a one-on-one situation. You get the excitement of the crowd. I like taking people to almost screaming their heads off to almost tears to right back to screaming again. I think it’s the thrill of control, in a way.

“And, yeah, I feed off the crowd. It’s a lot easier when you’ve got a crowd that’s with you.”

Grover, 32, lives in Minneapolis, Kan., with his wife, Jamie, whom he married seven years ago. For the past three years, he’s been one of the lead announcers at the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo and has also called the action for the Championship Bull Riding and the World’s Toughest Bulls and Broncs tours.

“I think what drew me to rodeo when I was younger was the animals and the bigger-than-life cowboys,” he said. “What keeps me coming back are the people who are involved in the sport.”

Click HERE to see Scott's Web site

Announcer Scott Grover, left, and Good Day Tulsa host Keith Taylor pose for a photo
before their interview Friday morning at the KTUL-TV studios in Tulsa.

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