Excuses are running out for Sawvel and his team, so it might be time for change.
Photo by UW Athletics
LARAMIE, Wy. — In Coach Jay Sawvel’s third year as head coach of the Wyoming Cowboys Football team, things have gone downhill.
Since the retirement of former head coach Craig Bohl in 2023 after a 9–4 season, the last season not much within the program has changed aside from coaching staff, and I think it’s time to start asking questions.
During Coach Bohl’s 10-year tenure as head coach, we had a nine-win season in 2023, three eight-win seasons, two more seven-win seasons, and six bowl game appearances. If we don’t include the shortened 2020 season, Bohl went 7/9 on seasons with a .500 record or better. Since 2023, we have had nine wins as a program total under Jay Sawvel.
Not much has changed in the last three years, except for the coaching staff. I mean, obviously the transfer portal has taken off ,and NIL has changed things, but Laramie should be a place that is an appealing destination for players for both of those reasons, leaving even more questions for Coach Sawvel.
According to The Sideline Report, having an estimated NIL fund of almost six million dollars a year and being ranked in the top 35 percent in the country should be plenty of appeal to bring in talent through both recruiting and the transfer portal. 15 players on the current 2026 roster are making over six figures in NIL already. That is more money than larger, power conference schools such as Washington State and Utah State.
The University of Wyoming also has a nationwide, unmistakable brand and fanbase. With one of the most iconic and recognizable logos in all of college football, and fans who pack out stadiums for games against FCS teams, this is a culture that recruits want to play for. With that, it also is a brand that demands results, historically something that we have been able to deliver.
Results are another undelivered promise year after year by Jay Sawvel. After a 3–9 campaign in 2024, understandable for his first year as head coach, Sawvel followed it up with 4–8 last year. Now, with an unconvincing win over an FCS team, a win over a sub-par Hawaii team, and three convincing losses, including an embarrassing shutout 28–0 loss against North Dakota State, it’s time for his job to be in question.
Also, with new university president Shane Reeves harping on the fact that our athletic programs need to be something that we take pride in, that is another concern and reason for changes to be made. Football is by far the most revenue-producing sport for UW, and if it isn’t in a good spot, it will define our programs as a whole. Pride is something that this university is full of, and if our programs, especially football, can’t back that up, it’s a problem.
If we’re being honest, there are some Group of 5 schools out there that are just historically bad programs. Schools like UMass or Kent State don’t expect results because they’ve never had them. Their culture doesn’t revolve around football, fans don’t go to their games, and nobody cares about their sports because it’s just not a concern. Wyoming is not one of those schools. We have history, culture, branding, and a level of iconography that we cannot let die.
During the 80s and 90s, Wyoming Football was a program that was consistently ranked in the top 20 in the nation. I’m not saying students and fans still expect that, but if Sawvel continues to produce results that make students consider coming to games with paper bags over their head, his job should be the price paid to fix that. Over a million dollars a year is not worth the performances we see each and every Saturday.
