The History of the Border War Between Wyoming and Colorado State

There is nothing like a college sports rivalry. Pro sports and major leagues might get most of the attention most of the time, especially during the NFL season, but it is college football that rules the roost in many parts of the country. Wyoming Cowboys fans will certainly agree with that and, at this time of year, there will only be one thing on their minds – beating Colorado State in the Border War.

Neither Wyoming or Colorado State have started the season in that well, but form goes out of the window when it comes to a game like this and even the best Oklahoma sports betting sites will be predicting a close affair. Although this one game will not determine how the two programs will ultimately get on this season, a season can be classed as a success if the Bronze Boot is claimed.

But where did this intense rivalry come from? It is more than simply geographical proximity that fuels one of the most bitter rivalries in college football. In this article, we will look at how it all started, where the animosity comes from, and who has the upper hand after all these years.

The Beginning of a Rivalry

It is perhaps not surprising that the school athletics programs of schools so close in proximity enjoy some kind of rivalry. With the University of Wyoming and Colorado State University only being 65 miles apart, it is only natural that a keen sense of competition is to be enjoyed between the respective sports teams.

But this rivalry is more intense than most and the bad feeling connected to the football meetings between the two teams dates back to 1899 and the very first time Wyoming and the then Colorado Agricultural decided to play ball. The Rams, then known as the CACs, had never ventured outside of Colorado and this first meeting was mired in controversy.

Colorado officials called a Wyoming forfeit, accusing the Cowboys of ignoring the rules of the game. The CACs were told to leave the field of play but Wyoming refused and ran in a touchdown. This disagreement grew into a mass brawl, and the bad blood began. Colorado stated that they would not play Wyoming again until it received an apology (although a rematch occurred the very next year). It is now the oldest and most-played game in the Mountain West Conference, and one of the most-played in the entire country.

The Bronze Boot

These days, the rivalry between Wyoming and Colorado State might be dubbed something like the “Route 287 Derby”, but the “Border War” seems far more apt, considering the intense dislike the two schools and programs have for one another. As with any big game, the Border War has its own trophy to claim, with the Bronze Boot a coveted prize every year.

The Bronze Boot trophy is based on an actual boot worn in the Vietnam War by Captain Dan J. Romero. He was an Army ROTC instructor at Colorado State between 1967 and 1969 and the ROTC detachments of each school are heavily involved in the ceremonial aspects of the game on an annual basis.

The detachment of the visiting team brings the Bronze Boot to the state line every year, where the detachment of the home team takes ownership and transports it to the stadium. Whoever is the reigning winning team has the honor of its ROTC detachment guarding the trophy during the game.

Head-to-Head Record 

This most bitter of rivalries began with a game awarded to CSU (then Colorado Agricultural) by way of forfeit, and the CACs dominated the meeting for much of its early life. It wasn’t until the eighth Border War that Wyoming even registered its first victory and the Cowboys had never recorded double digits before that win.

Even though Wyoming won in 1910 and 1911, Colorado State continued to hold the upper hand, leading the series 30-5-5 by the time the game had become a regular annual fixture in 1949. It was then that the Cowboys took full control, however, only losing three times in the next 25 years. 

Since 1949, Wyoming has enjoyed a 46-29 record, although CSU still boasts an overall series lead of 60-51-5. It is partly that balance over the course of a game played in three different centuries that keeps the rivalry and dislike alive. The 44-0 blowout win for Wyoming in 2010 is the most recent most lop-sided score, but Colorado came into this season as the holders of the Bronze Boot, winning its first meeting in five years in 2024, 24-10. 

Other Sports

Although the Border War is mostly a football thing, the rivalry extends to other sports played between the two schools, particularly the men’s basketball. The two hoops programs have met on many more occasions, with the overall series led by Wyoming 138-105. After long periods of domination by both teams at different times throughout the 20^th century, the annual meeting is a much more evenly-fought affair these days.

More recently, the two women’s basketball teams have also enjoyed their own Border War games, with the series currently tied enticingly at 58 wins apiece.

The Passion of College Football 

The Border War is a distinctly local rivalry that is considered to be one of the fiercest in college sports. But it is just a perfect example of the passion for football at this level. Entire communities (and states) rally behind their local teams in these types of meetings, with their own history of grievances and stories making the result even more important.

It is good to know that even in these days of rampant commercialism in sports, the rivalry between Wyoming and Colorado State will endure and continue to enthrall fans on both sides