Wyoming
Why Wyoming fans are ready to welcome BYU football back to Laramie
LARAMIE, Wyo. — The most iconic bar in town may surprise you.
It hangs from the ceiling at the Buck Horn, a popular watering hole in downtown Laramie just a half mile away from the University of Wyoming campus, ripped from a football goal post with a simple, framed explanation hanging below:
Nov. 13, 1999. Wyoming 31, BYU 17.
On an unusually warm autumn evening a quarter-century ago, upon toppling the No. 15-ranked Cougars (and preventing them from earning an outright conference championship), a rowdy sea of Cowboy fans spilled onto the field at War Memorial Stadium in hysteria, tearing down a goal post and marching it down Grand Avenue through the heart of Laramie.
“They don’t like it when you do that now,” Wyoming student government representative Rece Robertson said of the impromptu goal post removal. “But there will be a lot of energy and hype around town if Wyoming beats BYU this weekend.”
There’s already a palpable buzz throughout Cowboy country as the Cougars come to visit for the first time since 2009. The Buck Horn’s famous crossbar is just one reminder of how hot the historic rivalry once burned, and those fiery feelings toward BYU have never been forgotten.
“It was always such a dark, good rivalry,” Wyoming alumna Erin Rumsey said. “The whole state felt that BYU was a team we couldn’t beat. Sometimes we did, but usually we didn’t. Winning against BYU is a huge deal.”
The Cougars and Cowboys shared four conferences — the Rocky Mountain, Skyline, WAC and Mountain West — over an 88-year span. They’ve faced off on 79 occasions, with BYU holding a 46-30-3 series advantage along with a current nine-game win streak.
With Saturday’s contest between the two teams being just the third since 2010, I set out to gauge the rivalry’s current temperature around Laramie, mingling with dozens of students, alumni and locals around town to see if any hostility toward BYU still remains.
Long story short: It does.
Many individuals I spoke with declined to be quoted, though their colorful vocabulary would have been impossible to print anyway. While not every conversation was R-rated, the overwhelming consensus suggested widespread contempt for the Cougars even after all these years.
“I could never forget our chants against BYU — they should never be repeated or printed,” said Lee Feather, a ′77 Wyoming grad who traveled from the northern part of the state for Saturday’s game. “I honestly don’t know why we don’t like BYU. It’s just always been that way. … Disliking BYU is just part of being a Cowboys fan, even still today.”
Though Wyoming students still consider Colorado State to be their foremost foe, BYU still and will always register as a rival on campus, where hundreds of alumni are returning from all across the country to catch Saturday’s action. Given the excitement, you would hardly realize the Cowboys are 0-2 thus far on the season.
“I think it will always be a rivalry and the students will always consider it like that, just given the history of these two teams,” said Mason Riding, the sports editor for Wyoming’s campus publication the Branding Iron. “It just makes sense. There’s a lot of passion here when it comes to rivalries, and we get really excited for these games … especially just because it’s been so long since BYU has come to town, and it will probably be a really long time if they even come back again.”
I received a number of explanations for the continued angst against the Cougars. The win-loss record over the years is one thing, but BYU’s perceived arrogance in bolting from the Mountain West more than a decade ago is still a sore subject. Others claimed that LaVell Edwards-led teams played dirty or “held the refs in their pocket.”
“That 1981 game was so much fun,” Feather said of Wyoming’s 33-20 win over the No. 13-ranked Cougars. “Jim McMahon was such a turkey, I really hated him. Wins against BYU just stick with you.”
And then there is religion. “Christians in our community have a hard time with (BYU) for whatever reason,” Rumsey explains.
The Black 14 scandal is still a heavy chapter in school lore. Fraternity houses are currently flying flags with mild digs, and Wyoming’s Western Thunder Marching Band plans to change the lyrics to its famous “Beer Song” to poke light fun at BYU’s stone-cold sober status. “It’s out of love,” a band member insists.
One woman even took issue with BYU’s pregame alumni tailgate sponsoring a food drive to give back to underprivileged individuals in Laramie. “They think they’re so much holier than us, and it’s fake,” she ranted.
“(Wyoming fans) are not shy or afraid of talking trash,” said one male student who wished to remain anonymous. “You’re going to hear a lot of banter from the student section about that (religious) aspect, and there may be chants that are mocking the religion. … I don’t think it’s necessarily hate speech or anything like that, I just think it’s part of the rivalry that people get really into and (religion) is an aspect that plays into it.”
Even with all of the animosity, wherever it may be coming from, the Cougars’ return to War Memorial Stadium feels almost perfectly timed. With the Pac-12′s addition of four Mountain West schools — including Colorado State — Wyoming’s future seems to be in flux. Both its conference and rivalry outlooks are murky, and it would be easy for the Cowboys to be counted out of the new college football landscape.
“We’re definitely a much smaller campus and don’t generally get as many superstars; we’re always kind of (nationally) treated like the bottom of the barrel, which I don’t always think is fair,” Robertson said. “It will be a good feeling for the college and the community to have somebody in town (like BYU) that we’ve played constantly over the years.”
To many, BYU being back in town is an appreciated distraction from Wyoming’s uncertainty ahead, along with a reminder of torn-down goal posts, beating McMahon and other warm memories from the good ol’ days.
Clinging to such memories will be needed in a place like Laramie.
“Wyoming is never in the (realignment) conversation, their name doesn’t ever really get thrown around there,” Riding added. “With BYU coming in, it’s rejuvenating for everyone, especially if Wyoming wins.”
CASPER, Wyo. — High school athletics in Wyoming could see some drastic changes in the coming years following legislative changes to the state’s education budget, the Wyoming High School Activities Association recently announced in a statement.
According to the WHSAA, Wyoming school districts are facing a projected $3.9 million shortfall in activities funding, forcing officials to consider significant cuts to high school sports and extracurricular programs.
The WHSAA shared details regarding a new “silo” funding model implemented by the Legislature, stating that the recalibrated block grant model reduced funding for student activities and extra-duty responsibilities from $46.3 million to $42.4 million, an approximately 8.4% decrease statewide.
WHSAA Commissioner Trevor Wilson said the restructuring also restricts district access to an additional $76.2 million in previously flexible funding.
“A significant portion of the [April 28 WHSAA Board of Directors] meeting was dedicated to discussing the projected funding shortfall,” Wilson wrote.
The WHSAA is weighing several strategies to address rising costs with fewer resources. Proposed changes include eliminating regional tournaments and reducing the number of teams qualifying for state events from eight to four; limiting wrestling to two classes and restricting track and field state participants to the top 16 marks; making cuts to soccer, indoor track and field, Nordic and Alpine skiing, swimming and diving, spring golf and tennis; and reducing in-person speech and debate events by half and centrally locating All-State Music events to minimize travel. The board also recommended increasing gate admission or implementing student participation fees to offset costs.
While the WHSAA release states that no plans have been finalized and the various changes are currently just possibilities, Natrona County School District 1 Board of Trustees member Mary Schmidt criticized the WHSAA’s handling of the news at Monday’s board meeting.
“I take some issues with this, [including] the sheer fact that we as Board of Trustees members have not talked about that at all,” Schmidt said. “It is not our intent and it has not been brought to us to cut our athletics or activities budget for the upcoming school year. … I take issue with them picking sports and getting the community upset and ginning them up to be upset that this is all going to be cut when that hasn’t been discussed.”
Later in the meeting, Superintendent Angela Hensley clarified that Natrona County School District 1’s athletics and activities budget saw a reduction of roughly $550,000 in the coming year’s budget, but said the local school district does not plan to cut any sports.
“Thank you, Trustee Schmidt, for saying this, because I think people are wondering — we are not planning to cut athletics and activities for next year,” Hensley said. “We do have to take a look at our entire budget as we have talked about, as we learn more about these new rules that come in.”
Related
Republished with permission from Wyoming News Now, a TV news outlet covering the Cheyenne and Casper areas.
Cheyenne City Council has introduced a temporary moratorium, or pause, on new data center construction.
“The end goal is to actually have regulations in place, to have really heavy public involvement with this with data centers,” said Councilman Mark Moody.
The proposed ordinance is not a permanent ban on data centers and would not affect data centers currently under construction.
Councilman Moody says this is a bipartisan issue.
“I just want to make this clear, I’m not against data centers. We do need them from a national security perspective,” he said.
He said there needs to be more public input and regulations regarding data centers in Cheyenne.
The ordinance would require city staff to study data center impacts such as electricity usage, electricity tariffs, closed-loop cooling systems, groundwater impacts, agricultural impacts, and land value.
Cheyenne LEADS, the economic development corporation for Cheyenne and Laramie County, reported in November 2025 that there are 12 operational data centers in Wyoming, five under construction and plans for 43 data centers announced across the state.
“There needs to be more public input with this, and also to see how many we can sustain here in this community, cause there are talks of 43, and then another day 70. How many can we sustain here?” said Councilman Moody.
The proposed moratorium will now go to the Public Services Committee on Monday, May 18 at noon in the Municipal Building.
Sheridan will play in the North Regional Tournament at Gillette, while the South Regional Tournament will be played at Rock Springs.
North Regional Tournament at Gillette:
Checking record vs. highest team in the quadrant not involved in the tie, Thunder Basin gets the #1 Northeast seed over Campbell County, because the Lady Bolts went 3-1 vs. Sheridan, whereas the Lady Camels went 2-2.
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 NE) Thunder Basin vs. (#4 NW) Jackson – 11am
(#2 NW) Natrona County vs. (#3 NE) Sheridan – 11am
(#2 NE) Campbell County vs. (#3 NW) Kelly Walsh – 1pm
(#1 NW) Cody vs. (#4 NE) Worland – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Thunder Basin/Jackson winner vs. Natrona County/Sheridan winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh winner vs. Cody/Worland winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Thunder Basin/Jackson loser vs. Natrona County/Sheridan loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh loser vs. Cody/Worland loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
South Regional Tournament at Rock Springs:
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 SW) Laramie vs. (#4 SE) Torrington – 11am
(#2 SE) Cheyenne East vs. (#3 SW) Green River – 11am
(#2 SW) Rock Springs vs. (#3 SE) Wheatland – 1pm
(#1 SE) Cheyenne Central vs. (#4 SW) Cheyenne South – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Laramie/Torrington winner vs. Cheyenne East/Green River winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Rock Springs/Wheatland winner vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Laramie/Torrington loser vs. Cheyenne East/Green River loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Rock Springs/Wheatland loser vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
-
Milwaukee, WI5 minutes agoFive teenagers arrested following police pursuit in Milwaukee
-
Atlanta, GA11 minutes ago2 Giant Pandas Are Headed to This US Zoo. Meet Ping Ping and Fu Shuang
-
Minneapolis, MN17 minutes agoBauhaus Brew Labs in northeast Minneapolis set to close next month
-
Indianapolis, IN23 minutes agoIndy 500 qualifying format, schedule, entries, how to watch this weekend
-
Pittsburg, PA29 minutes agoHere are all the free movies you can watch outside this summer in Pittsburgh
-
Augusta, GA35 minutes ago25-year-old woman killed in shooting on Cameron Drive
-
Cleveland, OH47 minutes ago
U.S. Navy warship to be commissioned in Ohio
-
Austin, TX53 minutes agoTexas Metro Areas Are Coming for Chicago
