Wyoming
Playing back-to-back nonconference road football games isn't optimal for the BYU Cougars, but AD Tom Holmoe says it is the lesser of two evils
Just before BYU beat Wyoming 38-24 in Provo on Sept. 24, 2022, BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe told the BYU Sports Radio Network that the Cougars fully intended to return the game in Laramie in 2024.
“It is a good game. … It is a game we should be playing,” Holmoe said at the time.
After BYU beat its former conference rival for the ninth straight time, and perhaps not knowing what Holmoe had promised four hours before that, then-Wyoming coach Craig Bohl said he believed BYU would buy its way out of the agreement.
That seemed odd, because Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman had told the Casper Star-Tribune earlier that week that he fully expected BYU to make the trip, despite the fact that the Cougars were joining the Big 12 in 2023 and were in the process of trimming their 2024 non-conference schedule from 12 games to three.
Turns out, Holmoe and Burman were right.
Wyoming (0-2) will host BYU (2-0) at 7 p.m. MDT Saturday night in Laramie, the Cougars’ first visit back to the high plains 7,220 feet above sea level and 30,000-seat War Memorial Stadium since 2009. Quarterback Max Hall led the Cougars to a 52-0 win that day, throwing for 312 yards and four touchdowns in just over two quarters.
It looks like a trap game if there ever was one, considering that Wyoming is 0-2 and coming off a 17-13 home loss to FCS Idaho and BYU is 2-0 and coming off an 18-15 road win at the ACC’s SMU. But BYU coach Kalani Sitake would have none of that talk earlier this summer.
“Wyoming is always good, and really physical, especially up there,” he said.
The Cougars return to LaVell Edwards Stadium the following week, hosting a Kansas State team expected to contend for the Big 12 title, in BYU’s conference opener. Wyoming is at North Texas on Sept. 21.
You will also hear a lot this week about how much this game means to the Cowboys and their fans, who have seen a few memorable wins over the hated Cougars the past 50 years, but also a lot of lopsided losses. BYU has won 12 of the last 13 and 18 of the last 20 matchups.
The last time Wyoming beat BYU in Laramie, 13-10 on Oct.18, 2003, Wyoming fans tore down the goalposts and paraded them through town, despite the fact that both teams had losing records.
So why is BYU, which so little to gain and so much to lose, even playing this game?
At the Big 12 football media days in July in Las Vegas, Holmoe told the Deseret News that “it is kind of the lesser of two evils.” He also said BYU was doing it “out of principle,” a reference to his 2022 promise, his friendship with Burman, and a thawed, warmer relationship with the neighboring state school after a lot of discontent stemming from the “Black 14″ incident in 1969.
“So when you have 12 independent games, and then you go into a league, you have to take nine of them, and put them out, to make room for nine conference games,” Holmoe said. “You just don’t throw them in the trash. You have contracts with those teams that you have to work through.”
Holmoe said he didn’t want to play back-to-back nonconference road games, but a Big 12 requirement that makes its teams play at least one nonconference Power Four foe per season meant that the series with SMU (signed in October of 2023) had to stay.
Then it was a question of whether to keep the Wyoming game, or buy it out for probably around $1 million and try to find a home game against an FBS team on short notice. He contacted his friend and college football scheduling guru Dave Brown of Gridiron to see if there were any options.
There were for Week 2 — SMU proved to be the best choice there, as the Mustangs were moving to the P4′s ACC — but nothing great for Week 3.
“It was in (2021) when we first knew we were going to the Big 12. And we told Dave (Brown) we were going to need a couple of games in 2024. Most people think there are (a lot) of games, but there aren’t,” Holmoe said. “At the time, we had three choices for each one of those slots, because you are not talking about the whole season; You are talking about Week 3, and Week 2.”
Also in July, Holmoe said the Cougars’ P4 nonconference opponent in 2025 would be announced “pretty soon,” but as of early September that hadn’t happened. BYU opens at home against FCS Southern Utah in 2025 and needs a Week 2 game against a P4 opponent before traveling to East Carolina in Week 3.
“Only two years to do college football scheduling is hard,” Holmoe said. “Take a team from the SEC, and look at their 2032 nonconference schedule, and it will be filled. So when you start thinking you can do it in two years, on that specific day, the choices are slim.”
So, bring on the Cowboys.
“We will just keep making statements as we go along,” Sitake told BYUtv after the SMU game. “We are ready for statement No. 3 to come next week and we are going to Laramie and playing a tough Wyoming team … in a hostile environment. It is a good experience for our guys, so we are looking forward to that game.”
Cougars on the air
BYU (2-0, 0-0) at Wyoming (0-2 ,0-0)
Saturday, 7 p.m. MDT
At War Memorial Stadium (capacity: 29,811)
Laramie, Wyoming
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM
A pair of bills signed into law last week aim to build out a more comprehensive system of literacy education across Wyoming’s public schools.
One mandates evidence-based practices and requires regular screenings for dyslexia, while the other enables the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) to hire a dedicated literacy professional to oversee statewide compliance.
Gov. Mark Gordon’s signing of both bills on Friday was the latest accomplishment of an ongoing push for improved literacy standards. That push has been spearheaded by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder.
“Wyoming is not going to let a single child fall through the cracks,” Degenfelder said during a public bill signing last week. “We are not going to fall behind when it comes to ensuring that our children can read at grade level.”
The primary bill, Senate File 59, establishes a statewide K-12 program for teaching students to read that is built on “evidence based language and literacy instruction, assessment, intervention and professional development that supports educators, engages families and promotes literacy proficiency for all Wyoming students.”
The bill defines evidence-based strategies as those that conform to the science of reading, a term that will be defined and updated by Degenfelder’s office. Nationwide, it generally means putting academic research into practice in classrooms. SF 59 specifically prohibits the exclusive use of “three-cueing” — a strategy once widely employed to teach reading but which education experts now say is outdated and less effective than other strategies.
It also requires annual dyslexia screeners for students below the third grade, and testing for reading difficulties for all students.
The screeners are used to identify the severity of reading difficulties in order to direct “tiered” support that offers the most intensive interventions to the students most in need, while still providing “evidence based” language instruction to all students.
Each school district must formulate an individualized reading plan “for each student identified as having reading difficulties or at risk for poor reading outcomes.”
Districts must now report to the state annually regarding their literacy-related work. Any district where 60% or more of the students are struggling will be required to implement “summer literacy camps or extended supports, including after school support and tutoring.”
The bill also requires literacy related professional development for teachers and specialists “appropriate to their role and level of responsibility” related to literacy education.
SF 59 was backed by dyslexia advocates and literacy specialists.
Senate File 14, the other literacy bill signed into law Friday, appropriates $120,000 annually for the next two years for a full-time position at WDE “to assist school districts in implementing a reading assessment and intervention program and language and literacy programs.”
Both bills go into effect July 1.
LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference announced the Cowboys’ 2026 football schedule Monday, a slate that opens with the Border War and concludes with back-to-back home games in Laramie.
Wyoming opens the season Sept. 5 on the road against Colorado State in the 118th edition of the Border War. The Cowboys then host Northern Colorado on Sept. 12 in the home opener before traveling to Central Michigan on Sept. 19.
The Cowboys begin Mountain West play Sept. 26 at home against Hawaii in a matchup for the Paniolo Trophy. Wyoming then faces back-to-back road games at North Dakota State on Oct. 3 and San Jose State on Oct. 10.
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Wyoming returns to War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17 to host conference newcomer Northern Illinois before facing Air Force at home on Oct. 24. The Cowboys will have an open week on Oct. 31.
The Cowboys open November with road games at UNLV on Nov. 7 and at UTEP on Nov. 14, marking Wyoming’s first meeting with the Miners as members of the Mountain West. Wyoming closes conference play by hosting New Mexico on Nov. 21 and wraps up the regular season with a nonconference game against UConn on Nov. 28 in Laramie.
Each Mountain West team will play four home and four road conference games during the 13-week season, which will conclude with the Mountain West Football Championship Game featuring the two teams with the highest conference winning percentages. The championship game date will be announced later.
With the conference schedule set, Mountain West television partners CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and The CW will begin selecting broadcast games, which could include moving some contests to non-Saturday dates. Network assignments and kickoff times will be announced at a later date.
Season ticket renewals for the 2026 Wyoming football season are now available. Fans can renew their tickets online by visiting gowyo.com/tickets and logging into their account.
The 2026 Wyoming prep girls’ basketball season is nearly done. Two state champions were crowned in Classes 1A and 2A last Saturday. Southeast won the 1A title for the third consecutive season, and Sundance won the 2A title for the first time in eight years. Class 3A and 4A held their regional tournaments, which qualified teams for the state tournament later this week in Casper.
WYOPREPS WEEK 12 GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDINGS 2026
These are the girls’ basketball team records for all games played through March 7, 2026. For all but 16 teams, this is the final record of the season. Those squads will play in the 3A-4A state tournament starting on Thursday in Casper.
1A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Burlington 24-5, 8-0
Riverside 14-10, 6-2
Dubois 11-10, 4-4
St. Stephens 3-16, 1-7
Meeteetse 1-20, 1-7
1A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cokeville 23-4, 10-0
Little Snake River 23-4, 8-2
Farson-Eden 16-12, 5-5
Saratoga 13-11, 5-5
Ft. Washakie 8-13, 2-8
Encampment 3-19, 0-10
1A Northeast: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Upton 16-7, 10-0
Kaycee 13-12, 7-3
Hulett 12-13, 7-3
Arvada-Clearmont 9-12, 4-6
Casper Christian 4-13, 2-8
Midwest 1-16, 0-10
1A Southeast: (Overall Record, followed by Reg. Season Points)
Southeast 24-5, 40 points
Lingle-Ft. Laramie 17-11, 31 points
Lusk 15-13, 26 points
H.E.M. 13-11, 24 points
Rock River 6-14, 12 points
Guernsey-Sunrise 2-18, 4 points
2A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Thermopolis 16-13, 5-1
Greybull 16-15, 4-2
Rocky Mountain 9-17, 2-4
Shoshoni 11-18, 1-5
2A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Wyoming Indian 23-7, 6-0
Big Piney 8-16, 4-2
Kemmerer 2-21, 1-5
Wind River 2-23, 1-5
2A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Sundance 23-4, 5-0
Big Horn 21-6, 4-1
Tongue River 18-11, 3-2
Pine Bluffs 17-12, 2-3
Moorcroft 7-18, 1-4
Wright 3-23, 0-5
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3A West: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cody 24-0, 10-0
Lander 21-4, 9-1
Pinedale 20-5, 7-3
Powell 16-9, 6-4
Lovell 16-10, 4-6
Worland 9-16, 2-8
Lyman 10-11, 2-8
Mountain View 4-19, 0-10
3A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Wheatland 22-4, 10-0
Buffalo 13-11, 8-2
Douglas 14-11, 6-4
Burns 16-13, 5-5
Torrington 10-11, 5-5
Glenrock 12-13, 3-7
Newcastle 1-22, 1-9
Rawlins 2-21, 0-10
4A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Green River 23-2, 6-0
Natrona County 9-16, 4-2
Kelly Walsh 8-15, 2-4
Rock Springs 5-20, 0-6
4A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Star Valley 16-7, 5-1
Evanston 16-10, 5-1
Riverton 7-19, 1-5
Jackson 3-19, 1-5
4A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cheyenne East 21-3, 11-1
Cheyenne Central 16-9, 10-2
Sheridan 14-10, 7-5
Thunder Basin 14-10, 6-6
Laramie 12-11, 6-6
Campbell County 1-19, 1-10
Cheyenne South 1-21, 0-11
*The second Campbell County-Cheyenne South girls’ game was canceled.
Wyoming 3A Boys Swimming & Diving State Championships 2026
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Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Marcello Monterastelli Photography & Jared Newland, WHSAA
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