LARAMIE — Sundance Wicks has assembled a new staff and inked seven new faces in just two short months on the job.
Wyoming’s new men’s basketball coach has been a busy man.
Now the focus can shift to scheduling, an art that can seem downright impossible around these parts. Just ask former bench boss Jeff Linder, who often expressed his frustration about compiling the annual non-conference slate, especially securing games inside Laramie’s Arena-Auditorium.
That won’t be as big of a challenge this year thanks to the balanced schedule rolled out by the Mountain West Conference. Now all 12 member institutions will faceoff at home and away, adding an additional marquee game in Laramie.
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What else do we know?
Wyoming, as of now, has six non-league home tilts already under contract, per a public records request obtained by 7220sports.com. That is highlighted by a visit from longtime rival BYU. The Cougars will pay a visit to the high plains Dec. 7, making the return trip to Laramie as part of a home-and-home series. The Cowboys lost to BYU 94-68 last December in Provo.
These two will meet again in 2025, this time in the Marriott Center.
Wicks and Co. will also take part in the Cancun Challenge, a three-game series that will begin on Maury Brown Court and culminate with two meetings inside the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya Convention Center. The Cowboys will host Southeastern Louisiana on Friday, Nov. 22. The pair of contests in Mexico will take place Nov. 26 and 27. Those opponents are to be determined.
Wyoming is also supposed to play a road game at Texas Tech this season as part of Linder’s buyout after he accepted a job as a top assistant in Lubbock. Final details have yet to be ironed out, per a source familiar with the situation.
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Here’s the rest:
Saturday, Nov. 10 — Tennessee State — 1 p.m. — Laramie (UW football bye week)
Saturday, Nov. 16 — Utah Tech — TBD — Laramie (UW football plays at CSU Friday)
Friday, Nov. 22 — Southeastern Louisiana — TBD — Laramie (UW football hosts Boise State Saturday)
Saturday, Dec. 7 — BYU — TBD — Laramie (MW football title game Friday)
Thursday, Dec. 19 — Bellarmine — TBD — Laramie
University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players
The rules are simple: What was the player’s impact while in Laramie? That means NFL stats, draft status or any other accolade earned outside of UW is irrelevant when it comes to this list.
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This isn’t a one-man job. This task called for a panel of experts. Joining 7220’s Cody Tucker are Robert Gagliardi, Jared Newland, Ryan Thorburn, and Kevin McKinney.
We all compiled our own list of 50 and let computer averages do the work. Think BCS — only we hope this catalog is fairer.
Don’t agree with a selection? Feel free to sound off on our Twitter: @7220sports – #Top50UWFB
JACKSON, Wyo. — The Wyoming Department of Transportation reopened Wyoming Highway 22 Friday afternoon after the Big Hill landslide destroyed the road near mile marker 15.
WYDOT commended Evans Construction, Avail Valley Construction, the Idaho Department of Transportation and the Caribou-Targhee National Forest for their help constructing a temporary detour.
“While temporary, this detour safely reconnects communities and gives commuting families their valuable personal time back,” said WYDOT Director Darin Westby. “This process underscores the vital importance of infrastructure like mountain passes that connect people to work, family, medical care, affordable housing and other necessities.”
The WYDOT also thanked Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and congressional delegates for obtaining federal funding for the project.
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“Together with our stakeholders, partners, contractors and community advocates, we were able to accomplish this major feat in a matter of weeks – despite expectations that it would take months, or even years – all while keeping safety paramount,” said John Eddins, WYDOT District 3 Engineer. “Of course, we have so many to thank for this achievement.”
WYDOT will continue to monitor the slide area as workers plan to complete the highway’s full reconstruction. WYDOT plans to open Teton Pass completely by winter.
A Biden administration oil and gas lease sale in Wyoming brought in $5 million Thursday, adding to federal funds from several summer energy auctions held by the Interior Department.
The largest single winning bid — more than $2 million — was for 1,300 acres in the state’s prolific Powder River Basin oil play. Overall the sale’s proceeds were modest compared with historic highs set in previous auctions in the oil- and gas-rich state. About 84 percent of the land offered in the auction was sold, totaling about 8,500 acres.
The White House also held a sale in New Mexico earlier this month that brought in $34 million and an auction in Nevada on Tuesday that no one showed up for.
The Biden administration has scaled back oil and gas leasing to curtail drilling on public lands, sparking fights with Republican lawmakers. The GOP’s House spending bill released Thursday would order the White House to hold quarterly auctions for drilling rights on public lands.
