Prior to being an Oklahoma State University Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering faculty member and the Cowboy Motorsports faculty advisor, Dr. John Long was a student competitor. He was also a founding member of North Carolina State University's team for the ASABE International 1/4 Scale Tractor Student Design Competition. 

Here, Dr. Long recaps the 2024 competition, provides insight for his goals for the 2025 competition, and the progress on this year's tractor. 

These student-organization competitions offer opportunities for networking with other programs and with other students who may become colleagues or even employers after graduation. We are incredibly fortunate to have this program supported by our own experienced alumni and our faculty-alumni of other programs from across the nation.  

Who's running the show? Meet three members of the current board/officer team: President, Jared Stone from Chandler, OK, who is majoring in animal science and agribusiness; Vice President Derek DeGroot from Fresno, CA, who is majoring in agricultural systems technology; Secretary, Ethan Stone from Chandler, OK, who is majoring in biosystems engineering. 

We're diving in on the member experience in enhancing academic value and the importance of mentorship! 

Student organizations do more than simply provide students with something to do outside of the classroom-they provide an outlet to apply classroom learning, experiment with design and development and develop project management skills that they can use to begin networking with future colleagues and employers.  

A student's time at Oklahoma State University is full of fun and memorable experiences, but what they may not always realize is that many of these opportunities are designed to prepare them for daily life after receiving their degree. Alumni Joe Biggerstaff credits his time with Cowboy Motorsports, from 2002 to 2006, as a catalyst for his career in engineering, where he is currently Vice President of Engineering for Harper Industries.  

Hear from Cowboy Motorsports alumni Travis Tsunemori as he recalls his experience on the team, and describes the impact of the competition on young engineers and team members.

Learning starts early on the Cowboy Motorsports team! The freshmen members have been very busy over the last year helping with projects and designing the team tractor. Senior members pass skills and knowledge on to the younger members each year, ensuring the club and it's members will succeed in the many years to come! Hear why our freshmen members joined the team, and what they hope to see as the team begins building the 2025 tractor!