Texas to play Wyoming in football
It's official (for the most part). The Wyoming Cowboys and Texas Longhorns will play in Laramie in the 2009 football season.
University of Wyoming Athletics Director Tom Burman and University of Texas Athletics Director DeLoss Dodds announced on Friday that the Cowboys and Longhorns have agreed in principle to a three-game football series beginning in 2009. The series will begin with Wyoming hosting Texas in Laramie on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009.
“We are extremely excited to bring one of the premier football programs in the country to our fans,” said Burman in a press release. “Texas possesses as rich a tradition in college football as any team in the country. They have captured four National Championships including their most recent BCS Championship in 2005. We believe this game will be the biggest game in the history of War Memorial Stadium.
“We do not as yet have an executed contract in place, but we have come to terms on all the major points of the agreement and both DeLoss Dodds and I were comfortable enough with the terms to make the announcement at this time.”
After opening the three-game series in Laramie in ‘09, Wyoming will travel to Austin, Texas, twice for road games on Sept. 11, 2010, and Sept. 1, 2012.
The terms of the contract include an exchange of guarantees of $250,000 each for the 2009 and 2010 meetings, with Texas paying Wyoming $900,000 in 2012.
Wyoming and Texas have played only two previous times -- in 1974 and 1978 -- both games were played in Austin, Texas. The first meeting saw the Longhorns win by a score of 34-7 on Sept. 21, 1974, in Fritz Shurmur’s last season as head coach of the Cowboys. On Sept. 23, 1978, the Pokes, led by head coach Bill Lewis, faced former Wyoming head coach Fred Akers in a hard-fought game won by Texas, 17-3. In addition to their BCS Championship in 2005, Texas also won National Championships in 1963, 1969 and 1970.
On Thursday, reports leaked out that the game was in the works. According to Austin American-Statesmen reporter Kirk Bohls in his blog, the series would happen as Texas is replacing Arkansas in its schedule.
Several local reporters were told of the games by head coach Joe Glenn after Wednesday's practice, only to be asked by a UW official not to report it yet as the deal wasn't finalized. The silence didn't last too long as word got out in Austin, as well as in Laramie on Thursday of the prospective matchup.
University of Wyoming Athletics Director Tom Burman and University of Texas Athletics Director DeLoss Dodds announced on Friday that the Cowboys and Longhorns have agreed in principle to a three-game football series beginning in 2009. The series will begin with Wyoming hosting Texas in Laramie on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009.
“We are extremely excited to bring one of the premier football programs in the country to our fans,” said Burman in a press release. “Texas possesses as rich a tradition in college football as any team in the country. They have captured four National Championships including their most recent BCS Championship in 2005. We believe this game will be the biggest game in the history of War Memorial Stadium.
“We do not as yet have an executed contract in place, but we have come to terms on all the major points of the agreement and both DeLoss Dodds and I were comfortable enough with the terms to make the announcement at this time.”
After opening the three-game series in Laramie in ‘09, Wyoming will travel to Austin, Texas, twice for road games on Sept. 11, 2010, and Sept. 1, 2012.
The terms of the contract include an exchange of guarantees of $250,000 each for the 2009 and 2010 meetings, with Texas paying Wyoming $900,000 in 2012.
Wyoming and Texas have played only two previous times -- in 1974 and 1978 -- both games were played in Austin, Texas. The first meeting saw the Longhorns win by a score of 34-7 on Sept. 21, 1974, in Fritz Shurmur’s last season as head coach of the Cowboys. On Sept. 23, 1978, the Pokes, led by head coach Bill Lewis, faced former Wyoming head coach Fred Akers in a hard-fought game won by Texas, 17-3. In addition to their BCS Championship in 2005, Texas also won National Championships in 1963, 1969 and 1970.
On Thursday, reports leaked out that the game was in the works. According to Austin American-Statesmen reporter Kirk Bohls in his blog, the series would happen as Texas is replacing Arkansas in its schedule.
Several local reporters were told of the games by head coach Joe Glenn after Wednesday's practice, only to be asked by a UW official not to report it yet as the deal wasn't finalized. The silence didn't last too long as word got out in Austin, as well as in Laramie on Thursday of the prospective matchup.
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