# Wyoming Cowboys football

The Wyoming Cowboys football program represents the University of Wyoming in NCAA college football. They compete in the Mountain West Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I and have won 14 conference titles. Their current head coach is Jay Sawvel who is entering his second season as head coach in 2025 after serving as the programs Defensive Coordinator for the previous four seasons.
The Cowboy football program has been among the most notable of "stepping stone" programs due to the success of its former coaches. Coaches such as Bowden Wyatt, Bob Devaney, Fred Akers, Pat Dye, Dennis Erickson and Joe Tiller were at Wyoming immediately prior to gaining notoriety at bigger football powerhouses.

## History
### Early years

After struggling for much of the first half of the century, Wyoming football rose to regional power status in the late 1940s. Between 1949 and 1961, the Cowboys won the Mountain States Conference championship seven times, including four in a row under coach Bob Devaney from 1958 to 1961. After joining the Western Athletic Conference in 1962, the program added three more championships from 1966 to 1968, led by coach Lloyd Eaton.

### Black 14

In 1969, 14 black team members wore black armbands to a practice, intending to protest the alleged racism they had experienced at their last game with an upcoming opponent, BYU. Head coach Lloyd Eaton expelled them from the team, "triggering an uproar that consumed the rest of the football season and much of everything else in the tiny college town of Laramie, Wyoming."
In 2018, filmmaker Darius Monroe released a documentary short about the athletes: Black 14. The short "uses only archival footage to tell the story, mostly from local ABC and NBC affiliates in Wyoming, letting the principals – from the students, to the coach, to the school president and even the state’s governor – speak for themselves."

## Conference affiliations

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

## Championships
### Conference championships

Wyoming has won 14 conference championships, ten outright and four shared.
| Season | Conference | Coach | Overall Record | Conference Record |
| 1949 | Mountain States Conference | Bowden Wyatt | 9–1 | 5–0 |
| 1950 | Mountain States Conference | Bowden Wyatt | 10–0 | 5–0 |
| 1956 | Mountain States Conference | Phil Dickens | 10–0 | 7–0 |
| 1958 | Mountain States Conference | Bob Devaney | 8–3 | 6–1 |
| 1959 | Mountain States Conference | Bob Devaney | 9–1 | 7–0 |
| 1960† | Mountain States Conference | Bob Devaney | 8–2 | 6–1 |
| 1961† | Mountain States Conference | Bob Devaney | 6–1–2 | 5–0–1 |
| 1966 | Western Athletic Conference | Lloyd Eaton | 10–1 | 5–0 |
| 1967 | Western Athletic Conference | Lloyd Eaton | 10–1 | 5–0 |
| 1968 | Western Athletic Conference | Lloyd Eaton | 7–3 | 6–1 |
| 1976† | Western Athletic Conference | Fred Akers | 8–4 | 6–1 |
| 1987 | Western Athletic Conference | Paul Roach | 10–3 | 8–0 |
| 1988 | Western Athletic Conference | Paul Roach | 11–2 | 8–0 |
| 1993† | Western Athletic Conference | Joe Tiller | 8–4 | 6–2 |
† Co-champion

### Division championships

Wyoming won the Western Athletic Conference's Pacific division championship in 1996 and lost in the league's championship game. Wyoming shared the Mountain West's Mountain division championship in 2016 and lost in the league's championship game.
| Season | Division | Coach | Opponent | CG result |
| 1996 | WAC – Pacific | Joe Tiller | BYU | L 25–28 (OT) |
| 2016† | MW – Mountain | Craig Bohl | San Diego State | L 24–27 |
† Co-champion

## Head coaches

| Tenure | Coach | Seasons | Record | Pct. |
| 1893–1894, 1898 | Fred Hess | 3 | 4–4 | .500 |
| 1894–1897, 1899 | J.F. Soule | 5 | 8–1–1 | .850 |
| 1900–1906 | William McMurray | 7 | 16–11–1 | .589 |
| 1907–1908 | Robert Ehlman | 2 | 3–3 | .500 |
| 1909–1911 | Harold I. Dean | 3 | 11–12–1 | .479 |
| 1912 | L.C. Exelby | 1 | 2–7 | .222 |
| 1913–1914 | Ralph W. Thacker | 2 | 1–10 | .091 |
| 1915–1923 | John Corbett | 7 | 15–44–3 | .266 |
| 1924–1926 | W.H. Dietz | 4 | 14–18–2 | .441 |
| 1927–1929 | George McLaren | 2 | 3–14 | .176 |
| 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 | 23–12 | .657 |
| 2000–2002 | Vic Koenning | 3 | 5–29 | .147 |
| 2003–2008 | Joe Glenn | 6 | 30–41 | .423 |
| 2009–2013 | Dave Christensen | 5 | 27–35 | .435 |
| 2014–2023 | Craig Bohl | 10 | 61–60 | .504 |
| 2024–Present | Jay Sawvel | 1 | 3–9 | .250 |

## Bowl games

The Cowboys have appeared in 18 bowl games and have a record of nine wins and eight losses (9–9). Their most recent bowl appearance was a 30 - 27 overtime loss to Ohio in the 2022 Arizona Bowl. They will play the Toledo Rockets in the 2023 Arizona Bowl on December 30, 2023 for their 19th Bowl game.
| Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
| 1950 | Bowden Wyatt | Gator Bowl | Washington & Lee | W 20–7 |
| 1955 | Phil Dickens | Sun Bowl | Texas Tech | W 21–14 |
| 1958 | Bob Devaney | Sun Bowl | Hardin-Simmons | W 14–7 |
| 1966 | Lloyd Eaton | Sun Bowl | Florida State | W 28–20 |
| 1967 | Lloyd Eaton | Sugar Bowl | LSU | L 13–20 |
| 1976 | Fred Akers | Fiesta Bowl | Oklahoma | L 7–41 |
| 1987 | Paul Roach | Holiday Bowl | Iowa | L 19–20 |
| 1988 | Paul Roach | Holiday Bowl | Oklahoma State | L 14–62 |
| 1990 | Paul Roach | Copper Bowl | California | L 15–17 |
| 1993 | Joe Tiller | Copper Bowl | Kansas State | L 17–52 |
| 2004 | Joe Glenn | Las Vegas Bowl | UCLA | W 24–21 |
| 2009 | Dave Christensen | New Mexico Bowl | Fresno State | W 35–28 $^{2OT}$ |
| 2011 | Dave Christensen | New Mexico Bowl | Temple | L 15–37 |
| 2016 | Craig Bohl | Poinsettia Bowl | BYU | L 21–24 |
| 2017 | Craig Bohl | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Central Michigan | W 37–14 |
| 2019 | Craig Bohl | Arizona Bowl | Georgia State | W 38–17 |
| 2021 | Craig Bohl | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Kent State | W 52–38 |
| 2022 | Craig Bohl | Arizona Bowl | Ohio | L 27–30 $^{1OT}$ |
| 2023 | Craig Bohl | Arizona Bowl | Toledo | W 16–15 |

## Stadiums

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.
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.

## Rivalries
### Colorado State

The Bronze Boot is awarded to the winner of the college football game between Wyoming and Colorado State Rams in nearby Fort Collins, Colorado. Laramie and Fort Collins are only about 65 miles apart. The annual game has evolved into one of the most bitterly contested rivalries in college football. The teams have waged the "Border War" over 100 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. Until the 1949 game, CSU led the series 30-5-5. From the 1949 game onward, Wyoming has a record of 46-29 against the Rams. The series is the oldest rivalry for both schools and the Border War has been played in three different centuries. CSU leads the series 59-51-5 as of 2023.

### Hawaii

The Paniolo Trophy is awarded to the winner of the college football games played between Wyoming and Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football. This rivalry started in 1979 when Hawaii joined the Western Athletic Conference conference and was played annually until 1997, shortly before Wyoming joined the newly formed Mountain West Conference. Hawaii joined the MWC as a football–only affiliate member in 2012, renewing the rivalry. Wyoming leads the series 17–11 as of 2023.

### Utah State

Bridger's Battle is the name for the 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. However, with divisions going away in 2023, this streak of annual meetings ended. USU leads the series 40-28-4.

### Other rivalries

Wyoming and Brigham Young have played each other 79 times, with BYU leading the series 46-30-3. BYU was arguably Wyoming's second biggest rival until BYU left the Mountain West to become an independent in 2011. Utah and Wyoming have played each other 85 times, which makes Utah Wyoming's most played opponent outside of Colorado State. Similar to the BYU series, the rivalry took a major blow when Utah left the MWC in 2010. UW's record against the Utes is 32-51-1 as of 2023. New Mexico and Wyoming have played each other 76 times. The Lobos and Cowboys have faced off every year since 1949 except for a 4 year stretch from 1995–1998. UW holds the advantage over UNM 40-36 as of 2023.
Air Force and Wyoming have played each other a total of 61 times as of 2023. Their proximity has made them division rivals in multiple conferences. Two-time WAC Defensive Player of the Year Mitch Donahue once said “I hated them more than CSU. They were good, fast and little. They would bite at your heels all the time.” In 1998, #23 Air Force defeated number #25 Wyoming to win the WAC championship 10–7. In 2012 after Air Force defeated Wyoming, former Wyoming coach Dave Christensen went on a profanity-laced tirade about Air Force coach Troy Calhoun that drew national attention and a $50,000 fine for Christensen. This is a closely fought contest, with the Air Force Academy leading the all-time series 31-27-3 as of 2023.

## Notable players

* Mike Dirks (born 1946), defensive 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.
* Adam Goldberg (born 1980), NFL offensive tackle. He became only the third junior in University of Wyoming football history to be elected a team captain when he was voted a captain by his teammates in the spring of 2001. He was Honorable Mention All-America and two-time First-team All-Mountain West Conference. He started 44 of 45 career games.
* Jerry Hill (born 1939), running back - was selected as Wyoming's Football Player of the Century during fan balloting in 1992. 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. 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.
* Jim Kiick (1946–2020), 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.
* Marv Levy (born 1925), defensive back - Levy attended Wyoming for a single semester following his stint as a meteorologist in World War II. The coach who had originally recruited him, Bunny Oakes, had left prior to the season; Bowden Wyatt, who succeeded Oakes, imposed a round-the-clock training regimen that did not allow Levy enough time to devote to his academic studies. Levy transferred to Coe College and established a long coaching career that led to a Grey Cup win with the Montreal Alouettes and four consecutive AFC Championships with the Buffalo Bills; these achievements earned Levy induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame, respectively.
* Jay Novacek (born 1962), 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. 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.
* Josh Allen (born 1996), quarterback - a late recruit in 2015, Allen led the team to its first appearance in the Mountain-West Conference championship game in 2016 and two bowl games, receiving All-Mountain West honors. He finished his Wyoming career with 5,066 passing yards, 44 passing touchdowns, and 56 overall touchdowns, which rank in the top five for Wyoming Cowboys passing statistics. He was drafted 7th overall by the Buffalo Bills in 2018, becoming the highest drafted player in Wyoming Cowboys history.

## 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, given annually to the most outstanding receiver in college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, 1996
* Marcus Harris, Paul Warfield Trophy, Award given to the nation's top collegiate wide receiver by the Touchdown Club of Columbus, 1996
* Marcus Harris, inducted into the Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame on September 24, 2004.
* 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 & Football All-American, 1984
* Easton Gibbs, LB, Pre-Season Defensive Player of the Year, Mountain West Conference, 2023

### All-Americans

* C.T. Hewgley, Tackle, 1950 (APO-2nd)
* Eddie Talboom, HB,1950 (APO-2nd; INSO-1st; CP-3rd) (2000 College Football Hall of Fame inductee)
* Dewey McConnell, DE, 1952 (APD-1st; NEAD-1st)
* Jim Crawford, RB, 1956 (NEA-1st, INS-2nd, CP-2nd, AP-3rd, UP-3rd, FWAA)
* Jerry Hill, RB,1959 (Honorable Mention)
* Jerry Hill, RB,1960 (Honorable Mention)
* Mike Dirks, DT, 1967 (FWAA-1st; NEA-1st)
* Jerry DePoyster, K, 1967 (AP-1st; FN-1st; TSN-1st)
* Paul Toscano, QB, 1967 (CP-3rd)
* Bob Jacobs, K, 1969 (FWAA-1st; TSN-1st)
* Larry Nels, DT, 1969 (CP-3rd)
* Paul Nunu, LB, 1976 (FN)
* Dennis Baker, DT 1977 (AP-1st)
* Mike Smith, P, 1979 (UPI-2nd)
* Jay Novacek, TE, 1984 (Honorable Mention) (2008 College Football Hall of Fame inductee)
* Marcus Harris, WR, 1995 (1st)
* Marcus Harris, WR, 1996 (1st) ( Consensus All-American, Fred Biletnikoff Award and Paul Warfield Trophy winner)
* Adam Goldberg (American football), RT/RG, 2002 (Honorable Mention)

## Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of December 27, 2024.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 | 2033 | 2034 | 2035 |
| at Akron | North Texas | Southern Utah | Idaho State | California | at Colorado State | Colorado State | at California | Arizona | at Colorado State | Colorado State |
| Northern Iowa | Northern Colorado | at North Texas | Akron | at UConn | at Arizona | | Cal Poly | Colorado State | | |
| Utah | at Central Michigan | Central Michigan | at Texas Tech | Colorado State | North Texas | | New Mexico State | | | |
| at Colorado | UConn | at Utah | at Colorado State | at UTEP | | | at Colorado State | | | |