LARAMIE, Wyo. — With the recent announcement that four Mountain West teams would be departing for the Pac-12 as the conference looks to rebuild, one key component of Wyoming athletic tradition still remains unclear: what is going to happen to UW’s most famous rivalry?
The Border War, the famous rivalry game between Wyoming and Colorado State University, one of the four schools bound for the Pac-12, has been a yearly tradition going back to 1899. The first game ever between the schools, played on Thanksgiving Day, 1899 in Laramie, led to a controversial conclusion that has fueled the rivalry since.
Since the two teams’ last meeting on Nov. 3, 2023, Colorado leads in total victories 59-51-5. However, since the inception of the Bronze Boot trophy in 1968, which was made in the likeness of the actual boot warn in Vietnam by CSU ROTC instructor Capt. Dan Romero, Wyoming has held the lead 31-25. Wyoming is also currently in possession of the boot and has been since 2021.
The long history of this tradition has been contingent on Wyoming and Colorado State playing each other every year, however. Being in the Mountain West conference together ensured that the game could be played. With CSU joining the Pac-12 in 2026, the two teams will need to work together to ensure the game is scheduled if the Border War is to continue. It remains to be seen how committed each school’s athletic program is to making that happen.
As of 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, the University of Wyoming athletics program has declined to comment on anything related to CSU, Fresno State, San Diego State and Boise State’s departure.
However, in a CSU Athletics release, the school declared that it will work to ensure the Rams uphold their rivalries beyond conference play.
“These historic rivalries are important to our fans and institutions, and we very much want to ensure that they continue into the future,” CSU Director of Athletics John Weber said in the release. “It will be exciting to see new rivalries come out of this, too.”
As for the other conference games in which Wyoming fights over a trophy, the Bridger Battle between Wyoming and Utah State and the battle for the Paniolo Trophy between Wyoming and Hawai’i, none are threatened by the conference shift. However, the Pac-12 still needs to add two more teams in the next year to be compliant with NCAA standards and more Mountain West teams may be the next targets.
This story is currently unfolding and more updates will be published as they become available.
