When Trevor Brazile left his home in Decatur, Texas, to become a professional cowboy, he was prepared for all the traditional rigors of the rodeo circuit: ornery steers, tumbleweed towns, tiny prize purses and the occasional busted tooth. His notion of ''fame'' was being asked to sign autographs at the smokeless tobacco booth.

But in the last few years, the 29-year-old has found himself square in the middle of a trend he never imagined. When he's not promoting his new line of cowboy hats or traveling the country in a complimentary 35-foot custom trailer with leather window treatments, he's eating steamed artichokes with sponsors and mingling with celebrity fans. At the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, the sport's equivalent of the Super Bowl that continues through Sunday, he's been put up at the Mirage. ''It all feels so foreign to me,'' says Brazile, a three-time national champion. ''I'm a small-town guy.''

So long, lonely campfires.

Thanks to a convergence of factors from the recent arena-building boom to the expansion of cable sports channels to a growing number of celebrities glomming on to all things Western, the manly, dusty sport of rodeo is getting an overhaul. In smaller burgs like Greeley, Colo., and more cosmopolitan cities like Chicago and Houston, rodeos are moving to bigger, fancier venues.

Some events offer $300 ''chute seats'' closer to the dirt and bring in tougher animals guaranteed to buck. Others host pre-rodeo wine tastings and keep masseuses on call for stressed-out spectators watching from suites. Longtime niche sponsors like Justin Boots and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco have been joined by Enterprise Rent- A-Car and Pace Picante Sauce, while the sport's two major sanctioning bodies have signed expanded television deals with several TV networks, including CBS and ESPN. It's getting so popular that some stars and business tycoons are starting to invest by purchasing some of the sport's most fearsome animals. (Jewel, the pop singer, bought a bull originally named Midnight Confessions.)

While this red-carpet rollout has already killed off some smaller rodeos that can't keep up - and hasn't so far done much to fatten the average cowboy's paycheck - it is drawing more fans in urban areas. After years of flat attendance, the 650 rodeos sanctioned by the largest pro circuit, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, drew 24 million spectators in 2004, a 9 percent increase in five years. ''We got jazzier,'' says Ann Bleiker, a spokeswoman for the PRCA. ''And so far the good outweighs the bad.''

For rodeo, a sport born on ranches in the decades after the Civil War, this is a significant departure from tradition. Rodeo has always been more of a civic enterprise than a profit center (most rodeos still take place in small Western outposts and donate their proceeds to charity). Prize purses have always been paltry - $900 to the winner isn't unusual - and most cowboys have long held down regular jobs to make ends meet.

But in recent years, under new management, the sport's sanctioning bodies started to worry that slickly marketed sports like NASCAR and even ''extreme'' sports were siphoning their audience. To fight back, both the PRCA and the other major circuit, the Professional Bull Riders, retooled their seasons to make rodeos easier to package for TV. They bypassed smaller rodeos and put their marketing muscle into tournaments in major cities where select groups of top cowboys compete for bigger payouts.

For cowboys, this move to the mainstream has been a little bemusing. Brazile, the reigning PRCA all-around champ, had one of his custom trailers featured on ESPN. Star bull rider Ty Murray, who has an agent, has appeared in a commercial for a toasted steak sandwich and posed for an upcoming issue of Esquire. Cowgirl Charmayne James, a retired barrel-racer, has her own eponymous perfume. ''It smells like fresh flowers,'' she says. The riders aren't the only ones getting the star treatment: Rodeo bulls now sell at auctions for as much as $100,000, up from $4,000 a few years ago, according to stock contractors, and have their own fan memorabilia (mostly stuffed animals in their likenesses).

If there's been one catalyst for the change in rodeo it's the annual 10-day PRCA finals in Las Vegas, which has become something of a phenomenon. For this year's event, which will be broadcast on ESPN, every one of the 170,000 tickets has been sold and scalpers are charging as much as $700 for good seats. At a time when Las Vegas is traditionally sleepy, about 90 percent of the hotels on the strip are booked.

Events schedule

Cowboys and cowgirls are saddling up for a new rodeo season beginning this month. Here is a rundown of upcoming events

l Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Las Vegas, Friday-Dec. 11

VIP PERK: Gold Buckle seat near the chutes, $300

COMMENTS: Buckle bunnies know this is the ultimate rodeo, where the sport's top-earning athletes ride for a record $5.2 million in total prize money. Watch for celebrity bulls like War Dance and broncs like Cool Alley.

l Minneapolis Invitational, Minneapolis, Dec. 30, 31

VIP PERK: New Year's Eve bash with bull riders, $50 a couple

COMMENTS: The stand-alone sport of bull riding has tripled its number of events in the last 15 years to 30, and this is only the second event of the season. At this event, contenders are introduced with rock music and pyrotechnics. For at least $2,000, a few fans can meet stars like Justin McBride, tour his locker room, and stand on the chutes while he rides.

l National Western Stock Show & Rodeo, Denver, Jan. 7-22

VIP PERK: Club seat on the arena floor, $50

COMMENTS: More than 130,000 tickets are typically sold during this 75-year-old rodeo, which has a $500,000 purse. One attraction: Whiplash the Rodeo Monkey - a capuchin who rides around the arena on a border collie.

l Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo, Rapid City, S.D. Jan. 27-Feb. 5

VIP PERK: $35 floor seat comes with invite to pre-rodeo party.

COMMENTS: Located just a half-hour's drive north of Mount Rushmore, this rodeo coincides with a buffalo sale (expected high bid: $5,000), a Western trade show with 300 vendors and the Great Plains Shoot-Out, a rodeo for Native Americans.

l San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, San Antonio, Feb. 3-19

VIP PERK: Terrace suite reached by private elevator, $2,500

COMMENTS: The Spurs pro-basketball team takes a road trip to make room for this behemoth, which includes 70 riders and 900 animals from 17 different ranches. This event is famous for rounding up the priciest and most ornery bulls who buck the hardest (no ''hoppers'' allowed). Every time a bull competes, the owner gets $250, up from $100 a few years ago.

l La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, Tucson, Ariz., Feb. 18-26

VIP PERK: Seat in the Vaquero Club, a white tent with catering, $75

COMMENTS: First major outdoor event of the season. The name means ''Celebration of the Cowboys,'' and no wonder: Winter weather here can reach a balmy 70 degrees, so at least 65,000 turn out to watch. Crowds also love the ''mutton bustin','' an arena contest for children who want to ride sheep.