Name-a-Day Calendar, November 1: Wyoming Cowboys/Cowgirls
Page 360 of 365
Chosen in: 1891
Chosen by: Some random fan
The University of Wyoming opened in 1887, predating Wyoming’s statehood by three years. Intercollegiate athletics kicked off in 1893 but the “Cowboys” nickname was in place before then.
Before they established an intercollegiate football program, Wyoming played club football. According to the university, in 1891, the club football team was shorthanded for a game against the local Cheyenne Soldiers. They recruited a local cowboy (like, an actual cowboy) named Fred Bush to fill out the roster, and he apparently took the field wearing his cowboy apparel, to which a fan yelled, “hey, look at the cowboy!”. A lot of the team’s regular players were also formerly cowboys, so that offhand comment stuck with them and became the team’s nickname.
When the intercollegiate team debuted in 1893, they were called the Cowboys from the start. When women’s sports took hold at the university in the mid-1970s following the passage of Title IX, those teams were naturally called the Cowgirls.
Wyoming is one of three schools that has Pistol Pete as its mascot.1
Previous page: Wright State Raiders
Next page: Xavier Musketeers
Find every page at the Name-a-Day Calendar hub!
Yes, it’s a whole thing between them, Oklahoma State, and New Mexico State. Thankfully for my sanity, that is outside the scope of this article.
We should all aspire to be like some random fan.