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Even though the baseball season in Wyoming is just heating up, I have been thinking football in recent days. That is in large part due to the arrival of the Wyoming Cowboys’ football prospectus for the 2008 season.

The spring football drills are over, and Coach Joe Glenn and his staff have paused to assess the prospects for this fall. Glenn is embarking on his sixth season as the Pokes head coach, and his record at UW adds up to 26-33, which amounts to a winning percentage of .441.

That’s a far cry from the gaudy record that Glenn put together at Montana and Northern Colorado. His overall head coaching record is 184-92, a winning percentage of .666 in 23 seasons.

So the ebullient UW head coach is attempting to turn things around after a disappointing collapse by the Cowboys last fall when they finished with only five wins in 12 games.

The Cowboys got some extra attention this spring as the Mountain West Conference television network (the mtn) featured the Pokes in a weekly series devoted to off-season drills in Laramie.

I enjoyed watching the series, simply because it focused on our Cowboys, although in retrospect, there wasn’t very much new and revealing in the programs.

I was left with the impression that several of the Wyoming players were understandably upset with the way things turned out last fall.

There was enough blame for everyone concerned, and I got the impression that many of the returning players are determined to change things this fall.

The entire atmosphere surrounding the new $11 million indoor practice facility is positive, which is not uncommon in the off-season. Joe Glenn wasn’t about to point to any specific area as the reason for last fall’s problems, but he was quick to laud Bob Cole, the new offensive coordinator.

Glenn summed up his feelings this way: “There is just a great feeling right now. I feel it; our coaches feel it; our kids feel it.”

The UW coach goes went to say, “I think our whole team believes that something special is going on and that we’re ready to take a step forward with our program.”

It is easy to feel upbeat at this time of year. The real test comes later, starting with that Aug. 30 opener when Ohio comes to Laramie. Still, it is pleasant to feel upbeat even at this early date.

On the subject of coming to play football in Laramie, we will have an opportunity to welcome the Texas Longhorns to War Memorial Stadium as part of the 2009 season.

UW Director of Athletics Tom Burman has worked out a three-game agreement with Texas. The deal includes a visit to Laramie prior to two Wyoming trips to Austin in future years.

Texas could well be the most formidable football program to ever come to the high country. Cowboy fans will be anxious to welcome the Longhorns to The War.

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