LAS VEGAS — Two years ago, former Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl and then defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel were inside the visitor locker room at the home of BYU football, LaVell Edwards Stadium.
They were in Provo for the first matchup in a two-game series between the former conference rivals. The next meeting in the series was set for Laramie in 2024.
BYU won that meeting two years ago against the Pokes, 38-24.
In 2022, BYU was in its final year as an Independent while gearing up to join the Big 12 Conference.
BYU will play at Wyoming for the first time since 2009
So, from the Wyoming side, there wasn’t much faith that BYU would return to Laramie, a place where the legendary LaVell Edwards once said, “I’d rather lose and live in Provo than win and live in Laramie.”
To the surprise of many, BYU will travel to War Memorial Stadium in Laramie on September 14 for a 7 p.m. kickoff on CBS Sports Network and KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM). It will be the 80th meeting between the two programs.
BYU leads the series 46-30-3.
“Coach Bohl told me in the locker room there in 2022 that he didn’t think they would come back, that the return game would happen,” said first-year Wyoming head Jay Sawvel at Mountain West Media Days. “So obviously, it’s happening, and I don’t know whether [canceling the 2024 game] was discussed or not.”
Tom Holmoe stayed committed to playing in Laramie
While the Wyoming coaches had doubts about a return visit from their old rival, BYU AD Tom Holmoe doubled down on visiting Laramie in 2024 during the game two years ago.
“Yes, we are,” Holmoe said on the BYU Sports Network in 2022 when asked if BYU would make a return trip to Wyoming. “I like the interregional rivalry, old conference foes, and it’s just a game that I think we should be playing.”
The commitment to restoring an old rivalry adds another tough test for a BYU program looking to return to the postseason after an underwhelming 5-7 record in their first year as a power conference team.
BYU’s trip to Wyoming is one week after a road game at SMU in Dallas. After the Wyoming game, BYU jumps into a nine-game Big 12 schedule in what Brett Yormark calls the “Deepest Conference in America.”
Last season, Wyoming was a 9-4 team that included a double overtime win over Texas Tech from the Big 12.
Laramie is always a tricky spot for any team. But for BYU? The intensity
Wyoming coach Jay Sawvel: “It’s a big deal”
Jay Sawvel, who was promoted to Wyoming’s head coach chair after Craig Bohl announced his retirement, knows what hosting BYU means for Wyoming.
“There are probably books that could be written about that. It’s a big deal,” Sawvel said on BYU-Wyoming. “It’s not lost on me as the head coach and going through all the different parts of the state, how big of a game that is for the Wyoming fan base. Maybe in part because [BYU] is not on any future schedule either. There’s a generation of Wyoming fans that this would be the last time they’ll ever see BYU in our stadium.”
The last time BYU traveled to Laramie was in 2009, when the two were in the Mountain West Conference together. BYU is on a nine-game winning streak against Wyoming. The last two wins were under the direction of head coach Kalani Sitake (2022, 2016 Poinsettia Bowl).
“They’ve got a great program, and Coach Sitake does a great job. It’ll be a big challenge,” said Sawvel.
There are no future meetings scheduled between the schools.
“Things are scheduled 10-12 years out. They’re not on anything,” said Sawvel. “So all of a sudden, you start looking at it, you could be looking at 2040 before they ever come back. I hope I’m alive by 2040. So, this is a big deal. It’s a big deal to the fans. It’s an old rivalry. There’s a lot of tradition to that. Our responsibility is to play for Wyoming that night.”
2024 BYU Football Schedule
August 31 – Southern Illinois
September 6 – at SMU
September 14 – at Wyoming
September 21 – Kansas State
September 28 – at Baylor
October 12 – Arizona
October 18 – Oklahoma State
October 26 – at UCF
November 9 – at Utah
November 16 – Kansas
November 23 – at Arizona State
November 30 – Houston
2024 Wyoming Football Schedule
August 31 – at Arizona State
September 7 – Idaho
September 14 – BYU
September 21 – at North Texas
September 28 – Air Force
October 12 – San Diego State
October 19 – at San Jose State
October 26 – Utah State
November 2 – at New Mexico
November 16 – at Colorado State
November 23 – Boise State
November 30 – at Washington State
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
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