The Wyoming Cowboys college football team represents the University of Wyoming in the Mountain West Conference (MWC), as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 33 head coaches, and 1 interim head coach, since it began play during the 1892 season. Since December 2023, Jay Sawvel has served as Wyoming's head coach.
Nine coaches have led Wyoming in postseason bowl games: Bowden Wyatt, Phil Dickens, Bob Devaney, Lloyd Eaton, Fred Akers, Paul Roach, Joe Tiller, Joe Glenn, Dave Christensen, and Craig Bohl. Five of those coaches also won conference championships: Devaney captured four, Wyatt two, and Dickens one, as a member of the Skyline Conference; Eaton captured three, Roach two, and both Akers abd Tiller one as a member of Western Athletic Conference.
Bohl is the leader in seasons coached, with 10 years as head coach and games coached (121) and won (61). Justus F. Soule has the highest winning percentage at 0.850. Joel Hunt has the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with 0.063. Of the 33 different head coaches who have led the Cowboys, Wyatt, Devaney, Pat Dye, and Dennis Erickson have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Key
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage | ||||
Coaches
| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | DCs | CCs | NCs | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fred Hess | 1892 1894 1898 |
8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 2 | Justus F. Soule | 1894–1897 1899 |
10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0.850 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 3 | William McMurray | 1900–1906 | 28 | 16 | 11 | 1 | 0.589 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 4 | Robert Ehlman | 1907–1908 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 5 | Harold I. Dean | 1909–1911 | 24 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 0.479 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.400 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 6 | Leon Exelby | 1912 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0.222 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 7 | Ralph Thacker | 1913–1914 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0.091 | 0 | 10 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 8 | John Corbett | 1915–1917 1919–1923 |
62 | 15 | 44 | 3 | 0.266 | 10 | 38 | 3 | 0.225 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 9 | William Henry Dietz | 1924–1926 | 25 | 10 | 13 | 2 | 0.440 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 0.368 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 10 | George McLaren | 1927–1929 | 26 | 7 | 19 | 0 | 0.269 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 0.059 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 11 | John Rhodes | 1930–1932 | 27 | 10 | 15 | 2 | 0.407 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 0.333 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 12 | Willard Witte | 1933–1938 | 49 | 16 | 30 | 3 | 0.357 | 11 | 26 | 3 | 0.313 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 13 | Joel Hunt | 1939 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0.063 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0.083 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 14 | Okie Blanchard | 1940 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0.167 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0.083 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 15 | Bunny Oakes | 1941–1942 1946 |
28 | 6 | 20 | 2 | 0.250 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 0.111 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 16 | Bowden Wyatt | 1947–1952 | 57 | 39 | 17 | 1 | 0.693 | 21 | 13 | 1 | 0.614 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — |
| 17 | Phil Dickens | 1953–1956 | 41 | 29 | 11 | 1 | 0.720 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 0.796 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — |
| 18 | Bob Devaney | 1957–1961 | 50 | 35 | 10 | 5 | 0.750 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 0.838 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — |
| 19 | Lloyd Eaton | 1962–1970 | 92 | 57 | 33 | 2 | 0.630 | 32 | 19 | 0 | 0.627 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | — |
| 20 | Fritz Shurmur | 1971–1974 | 44 | 15 | 29 | 0 | 0.341 | 10 | 18 | 0 | 0.357 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 21 | Fred Akers | 1975–1976 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 0.435 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0.500 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — |
| 22 | Bill Lewis | 1977–1979 | 35 | 13 | 21 | 1 | 0.386 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0.500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 23 | Pat Dye | 1980 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.545 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 24 | Al Kincaid | 1981–1985 | 58 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 0.500 | 19 | 21 | 0 | 0.475 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 25 | Dennis Erickson | 1986 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0.500 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 26 | Paul Roach | 1987–1990 | 50 | 35 | 15 | 0 | 0.700 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0.813 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — |
| 27 | Joe Tiller | 1991–1996 | 70 | 39 | 30 | 1 | 0.564 | 26 | 22 | 1 | 0.541 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 28 | Dana Dimel | 1997–1999 | 35 | 22 | 13 | — | 0.629 | 14 | 9 | — | 0.609 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 29 | Vic Koenning | 2000–2002 | 34 | 5 | 29 | — | 0.147 | 1 | 21 | — | 0.045 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 30 | Joe Glenn | 2003–2008 | 71 | 30 | 41 | — | 0.423 | 15 | 31 | — | 0.326 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 31 | Dave Christensen | 2009–2013 | 62 | 27 | 35 | — | 0.435 | 16 | 21 | — | 0.410 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 32 | Craig Bohl | 2014–2023 | 121 | 61 | 60 | — | 0.504 | 37 | 41 | — | 0.474 | 4 | 2 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 33 | Jay Sawvel | 2024–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Notes
- Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.
- A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
- Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.
- When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.
- Wyoming has been a member of Mountain West Conference since the 1999 season.
- Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
References
- Rittenberg, Adam (December 6, 2023). "Wyoming football coach Craig Bohl retiring after bowl game". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
- National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
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