I know that I don't have all the options and scenarios. --certainly not scientific.

Wow--yesterday was a big day in CFB land!

I am betting that Gloria Nevarez has been in touch with the PAC 4 equivalent. It has been reported as that having occurred and she wouldn't be doing her job if she wasn't in touch with her counterpart. It is a touchy act, because George knows he is on the way out now having a P5 conference left for dead under his regime. This is versus a MWC commissioner coming thru this recent two weeks or two months with all of her teams still under the MWC Tent.

GN's ability to reach out directly to the two NW teams may be limited by legal constraints, but common knowledge knows that she is either looking for two of the P4 teams to move or possibly trying to negotiate that her league comes into the P12. If the later is the case, the P12 moniker is saved, but alas back filled with all the MWC G5 teams, several of which may be P5 level or near P5 with a combination of many other teams with stable programs and fan bases plus AFA with a national reputation. I just cannot see a scenario that Stanford would stay, maybe Cal but if either did stay they would be always with one foot out the door.

MWC would have some warts--namely SJSU, Oregon State and Washington State will need to work to a different athletic budget, but now with the expanded playoffs in CFB they now have a legitimate chance of being that new league rep even if the auto bid is stripped away from PACWest. That was never happening, or highly infrequent, for them in the old P12. One playoff bid would certainly make them look at things differently and I suspect the payday would go far (estimated at approx $6million) to help ease some of the pain.

Given GN's history and resume ( see link below) on the west coast with the PAC 12 from 2010-2018 and with the WCC from 2018-2022 she has contacts. The 4 remaining schools were all in the league during her tenure. Connections were made and kept--it is a small world and esp in intercollegiate athletic administration. You have to appreciate the apparent close working relationship, as reported, that she has with Bohl in keeping UW on the positive side of the ledger. Not to mention her prior time at Cal as well! I just have this feeling that we have the right person at the right time.

GK with the P4 needs to go, so some type of parachute is given to him. GN is named commissioner and the MWC teams come into the fold in 2024 for the new branded PACWest conference . She is at about $800K/year and the PAC12 guy was at 1.8 million.

I don't see a scenario that they both work together, but maybe the understanding is that she takes over in a year when he parachutes away.

In the meantime for all of us, now what?

per a report this afternoon, both Arizona State and Utah have made application to the Big 12 for admission today. This gives the Big 12 sixteen members and I believe that is far as they are interested in going. Which means Wazzu and Oregon State are not part of any discussions with the Big 12. That lowering of athletic budgets will be a huge pill to swallow for these two schools. Schools that used to be getting a $30 million dollar figure each year from TV, will have to live with a lot less, period.

Laramie, Wyo. (Aug. 4, 2023) -- The Wyoming Cowboys took another step toward donning full pads early next week when they put on half pads for the first time on Friday in a morning practice on the North 40 practice fields. The addition of half pads allowed for an additional level of physicality in Friday’s practice. Wyoming will continue to practice in half pads for practices on Saturday and Monday before practicing for the first time in full pads next Tuesday, Aug. 8.



“Today was the first day of half pads and some things became really apparent to me,” said head coach Craig Bohl. “Probably not a surprise to anyone, I think we’re really strong on the defensive line. We had great push up front today and we’ve got good depth at that spot. Sabastian Harsh (defensive end) did not practice today. He’s got some soreness on the knee that had the surgery last year. We don’t think it’s anything serious, but we’re going to take a deep dive into that. I thought our defensive line, particularly the inside guys were really impressive today.”



Harsh missed the entire 2022 season after injuring his knee during fall camp a year ago. He returned healthy in the spring and was able to go through spring practices. The sophomore from Scottsbluff, Neb., is expected to strengthen a talented defensive end group that includes 2022 Honorable Mention All-Mountain West performer DeVonne Harris, who is now a junior, and sophomore Braden Siders, who was named an Honorable Mention Freshman All-American by College Football News last season.



On the offensive side of the ball, Bohl continued to praise the early play of graduate transfer wide receivers Devin Boddie Jr. from Vanderbilt and Ayir Asante from Holy Cross.



“The two transfer receivers, Devin Boddie and Ayir Asante, both of them are going to add really good value for us,” said Bohl. “We need to have more productivity on the outside, so I was pleased with that.



“It was a little bit of a mixed bag at the quarterback position today. I thought we put the ball too much in harm’s way, but I know they’re trying to push the ball downfield.”



Bohl, who is entering his 10th season leading the Cowboys making him the longest tenured head football in school history, is excited about the talent and depth on the interior of UW’s defensive line. Returning are graduate Cole Godbout at nose tackle and junior Jordan Bertagnole at defensive tackle. Both have received All-Conference recognition before and both were named 2023 Preseason All-Mountain West selections by Athlon Sports earlier this summer. Godbout returns after missing six games last year due to injury. Bertagnole returns after missing two games late in the ‘22 season. If the tandem can remain healthy they should be one of the best defensive line duos in the league.



“I think he (Cole Godbout) is in a really good place right now,” said Bohl. “That group when we look at the physical composition of how they’ve changed their bodies during the course of the summer, along with the linebackers, they had the most impressive gains. Beyond Cole, (Jordan) Bertagnole is 290 and moving well. Gavin Meyer is back. We’re looking for the fourth right now. Ben Florentine is doing some good things. Jaden Williams is doing some good things -- the older one. We’re developing more depth at that spot and if we’re strong in the heart (of the defense) I think we have a chance to make a big impact.”



Bohl made the distinction in Jaden Williams, the older one who is a redshirt freshman, due to the fact that the Cowboys have two defensive tackles with almost identical names. True freshman Jayden Williams is also a defensive tackle.



“The other guy who’s been really consistent is Kolbey Taylor (cornerback),” said Bohl. “He’s been very consistent.”



Asked if he thought the Cowboy defense could be even more effective this year with the strength of the defensive line returning combined with Wyoming’s All-Conference middle linebacker Easton Gibbs and a potential strength at cornerback with Taylor’s emergence, Bohl replied, “There is no doubt when you start to get the pieces we have in place it allows you to do more things defensively. While we’re going to be a pressure team, if you can control the front and you can play well on the perimeter at the corner position now you don’t have to pressure all the time. You can get better pass rush with your front four. We’ll see how they do as fall camp goes along, but I’m encouraged.”



In terms of whether he thinks the ability his defense showed in the spring to create interceptions has carried over into the fall, Bohl said, “A little bit. Tyrecus (Davis, cornerback) has got really good instincts and is reading routes well. It’s been good to see how he’s playing along with Kolbey (Taylor) and Jakorey (Hawkins). I think Jakorey understands better this year how to practice and what our expectations are. He can run like the wind, but now he’s putting that together with improved technique.”



A summer addition to the Wyoming roster this year was Jamari Ferrell, a running back from Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo, Calif. When asked to describe how he and his coaching staff found Ferrell, Bohl responded, “We looked at where we were at when Harrison (Waylee) was going to have that repair (surgery) and we thought D.Q. (James) was going to be down at the beginning (of fall camp). While we felt good about where we were at with the running back position, we began to scour for more depth. What really helped us was Colin O’Brien (Cowboy tight end from Saddleback C.C.) knew him. When you take a junior-college guy, there are great finds out there but you also have to look at what type of character does he have and is he going to mesh with Wyoming. Our culture here is such now that if you’re not in tune, you’re going to stick out. He (Farrell) has been a pleasant surprise and we’re pleased to have him. I’m also encouraged by Harrison Waylee. He’s out there coaching, and I mean really coaching. He’s really into the practices.”



One of the young Wyoming natives on this year’s Cowboy team is true freshman wide receiver Kayden LaFramboise from Gillette, Wyo. When questioned about if he has seen anything good from LaFramboise early in fall camp, Bohl confirmed that the freshman has shown well in the early practices.



“He made a really good play the first day of practice,” said Bohl. “He’s tall, angular and can really run. The guy on our team from that same neck of the woods, Big Horn (Will Pelissier) has been a good, good addition to our team the last several years. It’s always encouraging for me to see guys from Wyoming have a chance to show what they can do. How he (LaFramboise) progresses is going to be important but what we’ve seen thus far has been very positive.”



Asked if he can remember back to when another Wyoming walk-on, Jordan Bertagnole, burst on the scene in his redshirt freshman season of 2020, Bohl admitted that he originally didn’t know what to expect from the young player from Casper, Wyo.



“I just knew that our strength and conditioning staff kept mentioning this Bertagnole guy,” said Bohl. “Of course he comes from a great program at Natrona County with Coach (Steve) Harshman, but all of a sudden he started showing up in practices and in games. Those are bright spots in college football. Many times as coaches we are glass half empty guys, but these types of guys give me a sense of happiness.”



Next Practice

The Cowboys will practice again on Saturday in a morning practice in half pads at the North 40 practice fields.



Tickets to the 2023 Season

Fans interested in purchasing tickets to the 2023 Wyoming Football season may: go online at www.GoWyo.com/tickets; email tickets@uwyo.edu; call the UW Athletics Ticket Office at (307) 766-7220; or stop by the ticket office on the west side of UW’s Arena-Auditorium. Season tickets start as low as $170 and single-game tickets start as low as $20 for adults.

It is officially down to 4 teams in the PAC 12. Stanford, Cal, Washington State and Oregon State.

for 4 yrs. That is awesome! I'm so happy for him.

Wyoming cross county team named MWC female scholar-athlete of the year.

The move of Oregon and Washington to the Big 10 is all agreed upon, there is just a formal vote later today and the ironing out of some financial issues (which apparently are not seen as deal stoppers I am assuming). Evidently Oregon and Washington have agreed on getting partial shares which will escalate on a yearly basis.

Arizona has already applied and been accepted into the Big 12, the deal is being finalized at this time. Negotiations between Utah and Arizona State and the Big 12 are progressing. I can not imagine either Utah or Arizona State staying if Arizona has already applied for and been accepted into the Big 12.

So this leaves Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington St.. If these schools are sharp and I would imagine they have already been working on a course of action if all of the above things happened, then it will not take long for two of them to make their plans known. By this I am of course saying Washington State and Oregon State will have their plans made. There is no way that it would be viable for the PAC 12 to take any of the MWC teams into their fold to keep the PAC 12 alive, due to the $34 million dollar fee the MWC would charge for leaving before 2025. I don't think for a second that our new commissioner, based upon what she did with SDSU, would hesitate to open legal action to get those exit fees from any school that tried it. The schools from the PAC 12 on the other hand, Washington State and Oregon State would not have any exit fees to be paid to the Pac 12 due to the television deal imploding, so it would be relatively painless for them to join the MWC. I would be surprised if our new commissioner hasn't already been working with Washington State and Oregon State closely on an agreement to join the MWC. I also would be very surprised if our commissioner had not already reached out to Stanford and Cal to test the waters so to speak, but again I would think that the situation with the Bay Area schools is very different from the Pacific NW schools.

Interesting time to be a Cowboy fan. For years we have been worried about other programs and conferences leaving us in the dust. But I very cautiously say that it appears that Wyoming might very well come out of this whole situation in a good way.

Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff on Tuesday presented the conference's presidents and chancellors with a potential, primarily subscription-based Apple streaming deal for its television contract that expires after this school year, according to multiple sources.

While several options were presented, the Apple streaming deal emerged as the likely leader at this point, bringing some clarity to a lengthy process that frustrated many within the league and ultimately played a role in Colorado's decision last week to join the Big 12. Monetary and exposure questions still loom, though, and outside pressure from the Big 12 remains.

It is getting to that time where the basketball schedules will be finalized and put out there for the public to see. I am impressed with the Out of Conference schedule for the Cowgirls.

After a preseason game,

North Dakota - Home.
Nebraska - Home
Denver - Away
Gonzaga - Away
Chadron State - Home
BYU - Home
Oklahoma State - Away
Creighton - Home
Montana State - Away
Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas

This a really nice Out of Conference schedule. We have to stuff the place when BYU comes to town and send those kitties back to Provo licking their wounds! I would also hope that we could have a really nice crowd for both Nebraska and Creighton!

Go Cowgirls!!!!!

P.S. - Does anyone know when the men's Out of Conference schedule will be announced?

Laramie, Wyo. (Aug. 2, 2023) -- The 2023 Wyoming Cowboy Football team took to the practice field for the first time this fall for a Wednesday morning practice in War Memorial Stadium. It couldn’t have been a more perfect day, with temperatures in the high 60s under partly cloudy skies. It also marked the Cowboys’ first practice on their new beautiful FieldTurf Vertex CORE playing surface that was installed on Jonah Field at War Memorial this summer.



The Pokes practiced in Spiders for the first day of Fall Camp. They will practice in either Spiders or 1/2 pads through next Monday during the NCAA acclimation period. The first day of full pads will be Tuesday Aug. 8.



It was the first practice for several of Wyoming’s new incoming freshmen and transfer student-athletes. The practice consisted of 24, five-minute periods including three periods of 7-on-7 passing competition and two separate five-period segments of 11-on-11 team drills.



The 2023 season opener for the Cowboys is exactly one month away on Sept. 2 versus Texas Tech in a 5:30 p.m. kickoff from Wyoming’s War Memorial Stadium.



“It was a good first day,” said head coach Craig Bohl. “We certainly have more work to do, but our football team looks more mature, which they are. We’ve had a good summer, and many times I’ve felt like about half your games are decided by how your team has worked through the summer.



“Some of the things I noticed today -- first of all at quarterback Andrew Peasley has put on some good weight and his arm strength has gotten a little bit better. It was great to see Dawaiian (McNeely, running back) out there. He’s moving well. Over on the defense, even though we were not in pads today, I thought our defensive front was pretty impressive. Cole Godbout is back. We’ve got Jordan Bertagnole and Gavin (Meyer) and we’re looking for a fourth inside guy. On the outside, it’s great to have several of our defensive ends back. Sabastian (Harsh) being back is certainly adding some great maturity. DeVonne (Harris) is on the other side and Braden Siders -- all those guys are good players and we’re looking for a fourth guy there.



“I was particularly pleased with our two transfer receivers (Ayir Asante and Devin Boddie Jr.). I think they’re going to add some value as we go through the season. They’ll certainly need to learn our system, but I’m pleased with that. I was also pleased with Jamari (Ferrell, running back), who we added as a junior-college guy from California this summer.”



“I think our strength and conditioning staff has done a really good job over the course of the summer. We’ve added more resources in nutrition, and we just look better on the hoof.”



Bohl was asked if he thought the two transfer wide receivers could become contributors right away.



“I was cautiously optimistic about what they would add today,” said Bohl. “Both of them are intelligent. That is encouraging because they’ve been able to translate that intelligence to better execution of our playbook. Our playbook is pretty complex, and there is going to be more that we’ll add. But my initial assessment was that I was really encouraged. We’re going to take a hard look at them. Both of them needed to graduate from Holy Cross (Asante) and Vanderbilt (Boddie Jr.) -- two really impressive institutions. We’re glad they have their degrees and that was part of the agreement we made when we recruited them.”



Bohl was questioned about the atmosphere around his team on the first day of fall practice, Bohl replied, “The first day, guys are always pretty amped up. It will be interesting to see where we’re at practice 14 and 15 when we’re in the midst of a grind. We did talk about that in our team meeting today that it is important to be a good teammate and encouraging one another to be able to push through those difficult times. There was a lot of camaraderie today. Guys competed hard today but there weren’t a lot of individual acts -- they were playing as a team. It was a good first step today.”



When asked if he thought his team had added motivation entering the 2023 season after losing some close games at the end of the 2022 season, Bohl said, “Every year is a new year. Our players have a great deal of respect for Texas Tech and all our non-conference opponents on this year’s schedule. We do have a bad taste in our mouth -- we played some good teams at the end (of the ‘22 season) -- but we wanted to finish stronger.”



Running Back Talent Returns

A couple of the offensive players that Bohl spoke about on Wednesday were veteran running backs McNeely and D.Q. James, who both have been productive runners for the Cowboys and will be looked to as key contributors in 2023.



“Dawaiian (McNeely) is a talented football player,” said Bohl. “He’s always produced but he’s had a hard time being able to finish off a year because of injuries. He has made a pointed effort to put on some lean muscle mass and some bulk. He’s as heavy as he has ever been, which we believe is going to help him. His numbers have still been good and he was moving around really well today.”



James is also coming back from injury that caused him to miss the final three games of the 2022 season and all of ‘23 spring practice, but he had a couple big games for the Cowboys in his redshirt freshman season of 2022. He ran for 120 yards in a home win over Utah State and exploded for 179 yards in a road win at Hawai’i.



“D.Q. practiced today. He made a really nice cut on a play,” added Bohl. “He and Easton (Gibbs) were in a one-on-one situation -- I’m not going to say who won -- but it was good to see him out there. Initially, we didn’t know if he would be able to start practice on day one, but he was able to be out there. He’s not cleared for full contact, but it’s good to get him back on the practice field.”



Highly Rated Young Quarterbacks in Camp

At the quarterback position, Bohl was asked about two young players in true freshman Kaden Anderson and redshirt freshman Carson May. Anderson enrolled early at the University of Wyoming, joining the Cowboy Football program in January of 2023. Due to him recovering from surgery, he was unable to participate in 2022 spring practice but he was out on the practice field for Wednesday’s first fall practice. Anderson comes from one of the most successful high school football programs in the state of Texas -- Southlake Carroll. Several high level college quarterbacks came out of Southlake Carroll,including former Missouri QB Chase Daniel, former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy and current University of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers. May transferred to Wyoming in the summer of 2023 after redshirting the 2022 season at the University of Iowa of the Big Ten. May is originally from Jones, Okla., where he was a four-star rated quarterback by Rivals. Rivals also ranked May as the No. 13 pro-style high school quarterback recruit in the 2022 recruiting class.



“We’re really encouraged about Kaden Anderson,” said Bohl. “He is someone we’re going to be bringing along slowly, but the future looks extremely bright for him if you look at the (high school) program that he’s from and the trajectory that he was on. We made a predetermined decision for him to count this year, even though he’s not going to be cleared for contact. The quarterback position in our system is so complex. We did not know if he would be able to go out and participate some this year, but he was able to do that today. We didn’t have many team settings in today’s practice, but it was good to have him out there and it was good to have Carson (May) out there, as well.”



Freshmen Projections

While it was only the first day of fall camp, the question was posed to Bohl if he thought any freshmen might be able to compete for playing time this year, to which Bohl responded, “I’m going to be a little bit reserved on that, but here would be the pecking order. For a freshman to play, one we have to have a positional need, number two is they have to have athleticism and the third component is they have to have the a maturity to handle playing as a freshman. Occasionally, there is a guy who shows that. I think regarding that first criteria I mentioned -- we have more depth than we had last year and so we’re not as pressed to fill a need. But there are going to be a couple spots that I’ve talked about -- corner being one of them where a freshman may have an opportunity or as a receiver. The defensive tackle group in our freshman class is really impressive, and so while that is a position where you’re down there in the middle of a street fight and sometimes as a freshman you might have a hard time handling that, I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen from that group.”



Next Practice

The Cowboys will practice again on Thursday in a morning practice at the North 40 practice fields.



Tickets to the 2023 Season

Fans interested in purchasing tickets to the 2023 Wyoming Football season may: go online at www.GoWyo.com/tickets; email tickets@uwyo.edu; call the UW Athletics Ticket Office at (307) 766-7220; or stop by the ticket office on the west side of UW’s Arena-Auditorium. Season tickets start as low as $170 and single-game tickets start as low as $20 for adults.

Ethan Drewes accepted to Law School


Go Pokes

First game this Thursday.

Does anyone have what they think is a complete list of Pokes that are trying to make a team?

I believe he originally transferred from Texas State.

One of the best kickers in the country.

Their game vs Middle Tennesse is Middle Tennesses Homecoming. They actually play an FCS opponent the week before homecoming. "It sucks to be!"

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Though I am still unsure of who the NCAA qualifier transfer is.

Laramie, Wyo. (Aug. 1, 2023) -- The 2023 Wyoming Cowboys will take to the practice field for the first time on Wednesday, Aug. 2 to begin preparations for the 2023 college football season. Wednesday’s first practice will begin a one-month countdown to the season opener versus Texas Tech on Saturday, Sept. 2 in War Memorial Stadium.



Wyoming will conduct 20 fall camp practices prior to game week vs. the Red Raiders of Texas Tech. UW will rotate their practices between War Memorial Stadium, the North 40 practice fields and the practice field south of War Memorial Fieldhouse. Practices are closed to media and the general public.



A year ago, the Wyoming Cowboys entered the 2022 college football season as one of the youngest teams in the country. But given that, the Cowboys went on to record a 7-6 record, finish second in the Mountain West Conference Mountain Division and earn a spot in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl. Along the way the ‘22 Pokes defeated rivals Air Force, Colorado State, Hawai’i, Utah State and American Athletic Conference member Tulsa.



A Lot of Talented Experience Returns in 2023

As Wyoming approaches the 2023 season, the outlook is much different than it was a year ago. A total of 17 of 24 starters return this season, with 10 of 11 starters returning on defense, a group of five starters on offense plus its starting place-kicker and starting punter.



Those 17 returning starters are among 48 returning letterwinners -- 22 on offense, 22 on defense and four on special teams.



The Pokes will not be shy of leadership either. While team captains for the 2023 season will not be voted on until fall camp, all four team captains return from last year in linebacker Easton Gibbs and nose tackle Cole Godbout on defense and quarterback Andrew Peasley and tight end Treyton Welch on offense.



Nine returning Cowboys earned some type of All-Conference recognition last season. Gibbs, Peasley and Welch were among those returners honored. Defensive tackle Jordan Bertagnole, offensive tackle Frank Crum, defensive end DeVonne Harris, center Nofoafia Tulafono, place-kicker John Hoyland and punter Clayton Stewart also received All-Conference accolades in 2022. A 10th Cowboy, Godbout, earned All-Conference recognition in 2021 and was well on his way to earning honors again last year before he was injured mid-season.



Five Cowboys were named to the 2023 Preseason All-Mountain West Team announced in July at Mountain West Media Days in Las Vegas. Those five were led by linebacker Gibbs, who was named the Mountain West’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Defensive tackle Bertagnole and defensive end Harris were also named to the Preseason All-MW defense. Offensive tackle Crum was Wyoming’s one offensive player named to the preseason team and place-kicker Hoyland was named on special teams.



Hoyland returns as one of the nation’s most prolific kickers. He has been selected a 2023 Preseason Second Team All-American by Athlon Sports and was named a Preseason Third Team All-American by Phil Steele.



Overall Team Evaluation

With an experienced defense returning and an offense that will blend a group of key returnees with exciting newcomers, it is easy to be optimistic about the 2023 Wyoming Cowboys.



Head coach Craig Bohl not only likes the talent and depth coming back from last season, but he likes the mental make-up of his 2023 team.



“I like the attitude of this team. They’re a hard-working group and we do have good ability,” said Bohl. “I think our conference is a great conference. We certainly have a very competitive non-conference schedule this year, but I’m excited about coaching this team and we’ll see how far we go.”



Part of the chemistry that has developed in the Wyoming Football program during Bohl’s tenure has come about due to building a team with players who have a passion for being Wyoming Cowboys and adding transfers who fit the team identity that Bohl and his staff have fostered.



“What has occurred is we’ve been able to distill the players who really want to be here and appreciate that it’s a privilege for them to wear the Brown and Gold,” said Bohl. “They work hard. They play together. They’re the type of team that I got into coaching for. This has been a really good group. They want to learn. They want to play together and want to do things the Wyoming way.



“What we’ve done with the transfers is we’ve done our homework and got some really good character references from people we knew and trusted who had worked with these guys before. I think that has helped. We haven’t hit on 100 percent of them, but for the most part these guys have fit into our program.



“One of the reasons we had another winning season last year is we had good chemistry in the locker room, and that wasn’t by chance.



“Every year is a new year, but it (2022) was probably one of the most enjoyable years I’ve had as a head football coach because I thought the team chemistry was outstanding. We had a lot of guys who achieved close to their potential, which is one of the things you always look for in a program. It was a good year for us.”

Tickets to the 2023 Season

Fans interested in purchasing tickets to the 2023 Wyoming Football season may: go online at www.GoWyo.com/tickets; email tickets@uwyo.edu; call the UW Athletics Ticket Office at (307) 766-7220; or stop by the ticket office on the west side of UW’s Arena-Auditorium. Season tickets start as low as $170 and single-game tickets start as low as $20 for adults.

Congrats to both. Glad the Pokes have them.

Paying upwards of $400 plus for overnight lodging to come down to home football games has me
damn near "tapped out..."

Go Pokes

The players report tomorrow. Another summer is flying by.