Wyoming Cowboys football

Wyoming Cowboys football
2016 Wyoming Cowboys football team
First season	1892
Athletic director	Tom Burman
Head coach	Craig Bohl 3rd year, 14–23 (.378)
Stadium	War Memorial Stadium
Seating capacity	29,181
Field surface	Artificial turf (2005–present)
Location	Laramie, Wyoming
Conference	Mountain West
Division	Mountain
All-time record	519–561–31 (.481)
Bowl record	6–7 (.462)
Conference titles	15
Division titles	2
Consensus All-Americans	4[1]
Current uniform
Colors	Brown and Gold[2]
Fight song	Ragtime Cowboy Joe
Mascot	Cowboy Joe
Marching band	Western Thunder
Rivals	Colorado State
Website	GoWyo.com

The Wyoming Cowboys are a college football team that represents the University of Wyoming. They compete in the Mountain West Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I and have won 15 conference titles.^[3] The head coach is Craig Bohl, who entered his first season in 2014.

Stadium

War Memorial Stadium was built in 1950 with an original capacity of 20,000 fans; the current capacity is 29,181 after the completion of 2009-2010 stadium upgrades.^[4]

It is the highest Division I FBS football stadium in the nation; the elevation of its playing field exceeds 7,200 feet (2,195 m) above sea level. The playing surface was natural grass until 2005, when infilled artificial turf was installed.

Prior to War Memorial Stadium, the Cowboys played at Corbett Field, a small field located southeast of Half Acre Gym where the Business Building and the Student Union parking lot now sit. It was named for John J. Corbett, longtime all-sport coach and director of physical education at the school. The field was the first official stadium for the Cowboys; previously they had played on Prexy's Pasture, the main green of the school.^[5]

Rivalries

Bronze Boot

The Bronze Boot is awarded to the winner of the college football game between Wyoming and Colorado State, in nearby Fort Collins. The annual game has evolved into one of the most bitterly contested rivalries in college football. The teams have waged the "Border War" one hundred times since the schools began playing in 1899, playing every year except 1901, 1902, 1906, 1907, 1918, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1943, 1944, and 1945. This is one of the oldest interstate rivalries west of the Mississippi River, and the oldest west of Lawrence, Kansas. The series is the oldest rivalry for both schools and the "Border War" has been played in three different centuries.^[6]

Paniolo Trophy

The Paniolo Trophy is awarded to the winner of the college football games played between Wyoming and Hawai'i. This rivalry started in 1979 when Hawai'i joined the WAC conference and was played annually until 1997, shortly before Wyoming joined the newly formed Mountain West Conference. Hawai'i joined the MWC as a football-only affiliate member in 2012, renewing the rivalry.

Bridger's Battle

Bridger's Battle is the name for the college football games played between Wyoming and Utah State, the winner of which is awarded the trophy of the rivalry, a .50 caliber Rocky Mountain Hawken rifle. The rivalry started in 1903, and renewed as an annual game in 2013 when Utah State joined the Mountain West Conference.

Notable players

• Mike Dirks - tackle - part of one of college football's best defenses in 1966 and 1967. He was selected as an All-American and All-Western Athletic Conference performer. He co-captained Wyoming's 1967 WAC Championship football team that finished fifth in the nation. Led the Cowboys to a 10-1 record and berth in the 1968 Sugar Bowl. He was part of the Cowboys line that was the nation's best rushing defense for two consecutive seasons. No team in the nation has since allowed fewer rushing yards than the 1966 and 1967 Wyoming defenses. Dirks produced 71 tackles, 30 unassisted tackles, and 26 tackles for a loss. He was inducted into the Wyoming Cowboys Athletic Hall of Fame on October 29, 1993.
• Jim Kiick - running back - Wyoming's leading rusher for each of his three seasons, 1965-67. He totalled 1,714 yards and ten touchdowns on 431 carries, and 561 yards and five touchdowns on 52 pass receptions. He was the first player ever to earn first-team All-Western Athletic Conference honors three times. Kiick was co-captain of the team as a senior. He was named the Most Valuable Player in the 1966 Sun Bowl victory over Florida State, rushing 25 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns, and catching four passes for 42 yards. He also played in the 1968 Sugar Bowl against LSU, rushing 19 times for 75 yards and a touchdown, and catching five passes for 48 yards. Kiick played in the 1968 Senior Bowl, and was selected to play in the 1968 College All-Star Game.
• Jerry Hill - running back - was selected as Wyoming's Football Player of the Century during fan balloting in 1992.^[7] He was selected as an All-Skyline Conference running back in 1959 and 1960. In those two seasons, Hill was Wyoming's leading rusher. During his career, the Cowboys posted a 25-6 record. Hill was a member of the club that won the 1958 Sun Bowl.^[7] His career would finish with 1,374 rushing yards on 288 carries. He was inducted in the Wyoming Cowboys Athletic Hall of Fame on October 29, 1993.
• Jay Novacek - tight end - was a two sport All-American at Wyoming, also excelling in track. He was the Wyoming record holder in the decathlon and pole vault. As a football player, he was selected to the Kodak All-American football team in 1984.^[7] The selection was attributed to setting an NCAA record for receiving yards per receptions by a tight end. Novacek finished his Cowboys career with 83 career receptions for 1,536 yards and 10 touchdowns as a tight end. He was inducted in the Wyoming Cowboys Athletic Hall of Fame on October 29, 1993. He was also inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame on July 19, 2009 .

Coaches

Tenure	Coach	Seasons	Record	Win Pct.
1893	Fred Hess	1	1–0	1.000
1894	Fred Hess & J.F. Soule	1	3–0	1.000
1895–97	J.F. Soule	3	5–0	1.000
1898	Fred Hess	1	0–4	.000
1899	Justus Soule	1	0–1–1	.250
1900–1906	William McMurray	7	16–11–1	.589
1907–1908	Robert Ehlman	2	3–3	.500
1909–1911	H.I. Dean	3	11–12–1	.479
1912	L.C. Exelby	1	2–7	.222
1913–1914	R.W. Thacker	2	1–10	.091
1915–1923	John Corbett	7	15–44–3	.266
1924–1926	W.H. Dietz	3	10–13–2	.440
1927–1929	George McLaren	3	7–19	.269
1930–1932	John Rhodes	3	10–15–2	.407
1933–1938	Willard Witte	6	16–30–3	.357
1939	Joel Hunt	1	0–7–1	.063
1940	Okie Blanchard	1	1–7–1	.167
1941–1946	Bernard Oakes	3	6–20–2	.250
1947–1952	Bowden Wyatt	6	39–17–1	.693
1953–1956	Phil Dickens	4	29–11–1	.720
1957–1961	Bob Devaney	5	35–10–5	.750
1962–1970	Lloyd Eaton	9	57–33–2	.630
1971–1974	Fritz Shurmur	4	15–29	.341
1975–1976	Fred Akers	2	10–13	.435
1977–1979	Bill Lewis	3	14–20–1	.414
1980	Pat Dye	1	6–5	.545
1981–1985	Al Kincaid	5	29–29	.500
1986	Dennis Erickson	1	6–6	.500
1987–1990	Paul Roach	4	35–15	.700
1991–1996	Joe Tiller	6	39–30–1	.564
1997–1999	Dana Dimel	3	22–12	.647
2000–2002	Vic Koenning	3	5–29	.147
2003–2008	Joe Glenn	6	30–41	.423
2009–2013	Dave Christensen	5	27–35	.435
2014–present	Craig Bohl	3	14–23	.378
Totals	32 coaches	120 seasons	519–561–31	.481

NFL Players

Current Players

Name	Position	Team	Draft Year	Draft Position
Tashaun Gipson	Safety	Jacksonville Jaguars	2012	Undrafted
Marqueston Huff	Safety	Baltimore Ravens	2014	4th Round, Pick 122
Mark Nzeocha	Linebacker	Dallas Cowboys	2015	7th Round, Pick 236
Chris Prosinski	Safety	Chicago Bears	2011	4th Round, Pick 121
Mike Purcell	Nose Tackle	San Francisco 49ers	2013	Undrafted
Mitch Unrein	Defensive End	Chicago Bears	2010	Undrafted

Honors and awards

• Mike Dirks, First Team All-Western Athletic Conference, 1967
• Mike Dirks, Football writers of America, Look Magazine, Newspaper Enterprise Association All-American, 1967
• Mike Dirks, Team Co-Captain on NCAA record setting defense
• Marcus Harris, Fred Biletnikoff Award^[8]
• Marcus Harris, inducted into the Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame on September 24, 2004.^[9]
• Jerry Hill, First Team All-Skyline Conference, 1959, 1960
• Jerry Hill, Selected Wyoming Football Player of the Century, 1992
• Jerry Hill, Honorable Mention All-American, 1959, 1960
• Jerry Hill, Admiral Emory S. Land Award Winner
• Jim Kiick, Tailback, Most Valuable Player, 1966 Sun Bowl
• Leonard Kucewski, Guard, Most Valuable Player, 1958 Sun Bowl
• Jay Novacek, First Team All-Western Athletic Conference, 1984
• Jay Novacek, Football All-American, 1984

Year-by-year

• See List of Wyoming Cowboys football seasons

Conference affiliations

• 1893–1904: Independent
• 1905–1908: Colorado Football Association
• 1909–1937: Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
• 1938–1961: Mountain States Conference
• 1962–1998: Western Athletic Conference
• 1999–present: Mountain West Conference

Bowl history

Wyoming defeated UCLA in the 2004 Las Vegas Bowl to end their six bowl game losing streak.^[10]

The Cowboys have appeared in thirteen bowl games and have a record of six wins and seven losses (6–7). Their most recent bowl appearance came in their 35–17 loss to Temple in the 2011 New Mexico Bowl.^[11]

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of September 8, 2015

2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
at Iowa	vs Washington State	vs Missouri	vs Weber State	at Northern Illinois	vs Tulsa	vs Texas Tech	at Arizona State
vs Gardner–Webb	at Missouri	at Texas State	at Texas Tech	vs Ball State	at Illinois	vs Portland State
vs Oregon	vs Wofford	vs Idaho	at Ball State	at Clemson	vs Appalachian State
Texas State		at Tulsa

^[12]

References

1. "NCAA Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2014. pp. 13–18. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
2. Wyoming Athletics Style Guide (PDF). Retrieved 2016-03-28.
3. "Wyoming Cowboys at CFB Data Warehouse".
4. "Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium". wyomingathletics.com.
5. "Films of UW Football and Basketball Games Now Accessible Online" County10.com, accessed 3 September 2015
6. Wyoming Athletics.com - Bronze Boot
7. "University of Wyoming Official Athletic Site - Traditions". wyomingathletics.com.
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
9. "University of Wyoming Official Athletic Site - Traditions". cstv.com.
10. "Bramlett guides fourth-quarter comeback". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 23, 2004. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
11. "Temple wins New Mexico Bowl with romp over Wyoming". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 17, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
12. "Wyoming Cowboys Football Schedules and Future Schedules". fbschedules.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26.

External links

• Official website