Shootouts to continue
By George Kay
At least that is the assurance I got when I questioned University of Wyoming Athletic Director Tom Burman on the subject of future Wyoming Shootouts at the Casper Events Center.
Burman was convincing in his answer to my question about the continuation of the basketball doubleheader in Casper. We were talking about the Shootout situation in a between games discussion on Dec. 15 at the Events Center.
Burman said he is sold on the Shootout concept and pointed out that last Saturday’s crowd of about 5,000 was more than would have turned out if the games had been played at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, being that the UW students are on break.
The Shootout makes sense in a variety of ways, and it is good to know that the Wyoming athletic director is convinced of that fact.
The problem that Burman faces is bringing opponents into Casper for the Cowboys and Cowgirls. He says the recent success of the women’s basketball program at Wyoming makes it even more difficult to entice a name opponent to want to play the Cowgirls ay home.
As for the Cowboys, one of the problems is financial because teams are demanding a larger payday to travel to Wyoming. The current arrangement of playing Montana State every year about this time is going to end.
The so-called Border War between the Cowboys and Bobcats is not going to continue. The series included a game in Billings every other year and a game in Casper on the alternating years.
It seemed like a natural rivalry with the Cowboys and Bobcats meeting on neutral courts in the series that attracted Wyoming fans to Billings, as well as to Casper.
Burman said Montana State wasn’t drawing well in Billings and wanted to move the game to their home court in Bozeman, but Wyoming liked the neutral court idea and isn’t interested in playing in Bozeman. So the current arrangement is going away.
The UW Athletic Department is trying to line up an attractive opponent for the next Shootout, but nothing is firm at this time. Burman and UW head coach Heath Schroyer would like to bring in Fresno State to play the Pokes at the next Shootout, but that isn’t a firm deal by any means.
Schroyer has ties to Fresno State and Bulldog head coach Steve Cleveland and that friendship might be enough to put the deal together. Fresno would be a nice team for the Cowboys to face, both from competitive and attendance standpoints.
The Cowboys had never lost to Montana State during the recent series in Casper and Billings, but the Bobcats changed all that with their convincing win on Saturday.
Montana State’s 79-72 victory exposed some obvious weaknesses in the Pokes. The Bobcats were much stronger in the post as was evident in the 11-rebound edge they enjoyed.
Montana State is not a really big team in the low block, but the Cowboys were no match in that department. This area likely will be a continuing problem for the Cowboys as they move into Mountain West Conference play where they will be challenged by bigger and stronger front-court players.
First-year coach Heath Schroyer says his team is a “work in progress” and that is certainly the case as we look ahead to conference challenges.
Coach Joe Legerski’s Cowgirls, on the other hand, appear capable of achieving the lofty goals that Wyoming fans have set for them. This team is talented and resourceful with a solid record of playing well enough to win on the road in places like Wisconsin and Iowa.
It always is comforting to read something that affirms one’s disdain for the BCS format.
With Ohio State and LSU selected to play for the national championship, it was great reading the Sports Illustrated article calling for a playoff format to determine which teams were worthy of playing for the title.
SI designed an eight-team playoff alignment that would be a terrific attraction and, in the end, we would have a major college football team with legitimate credentials to claim the championship.
I guess it would make too much sense, so we will determine the championship contenders by virtue of polls and computer rankings. The wonderful sport of college football deserves better, such as is the case in the other divisions of the game.