Matt’s riding skills come from the legacy of great cowboys.  He started riding at the age of 8 and never slowed down.  While in high school, Matt became a champion bull rider but also competed in saddle bronc riding and team roping.  He was the United Professional Rodeo Association champion bull rider during his senior year.  

 Matt was recruited to compete for the Hill College rodeo team in the fall of 2002 but unfortunately could not complete that school year of competition.  He did go on and win the 2003 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Rookie of the Year Bull Riding title.  Matt came back to Hill College to finish what he started.  In the 2003-04 school year, Matt won the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) Southern Regional Championship in bull riding and competed at the 2004 College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR).  Matt finished 5th in the nation, one bull away from the national championship.  He had a very successful professional year in the PRCA, qualifying for his first National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in 2004. 

Wanting the ultimate achievement in collegiate rodeo, Matt came back in the 2004-05 school year to win it all.  Matt Austin was the NIRA Southern Regional Bull Riding Champion again in 2005.  Matt not only competed at the CNFR but won the 2005 National Bull Riding Championship.  Matt helped lead the team to a 4th place Men’s Team championship at the 2005 CNFR. 

Matt Austin was a busy man that year, winning the 2005 Extreme Bull Riding championship, winning the Championship Bull Riding (CBR) World Championship, and qualifying for his 2nd NFR. Matt won the average in bull riding and went on to become the 2005 PRCA World Champion Bull Rider.  In 2005, Matt Austin broke the all-time season earnings record in the PRCA. Matt went on to compete at the NFR in 2006.   

Matt Austin won the Collegiate National Championship and the PRCA World Championship in the same year – unprecedented!  Matt Austin is truly one of the greatest bull riders of all time.