The Bronze Boot
by AutumnSpectacle.com staff

One of the most intriguing aspects of the Autumn Spectacle is that each school has its own treasures – something that particular school places importance on.  The Bronze Boot is such a prize for Colorado State and Wyoming.  CSU/Wyo meets all criteria to be considered a legitimate rivalry. 

It is longstanding.  The two teams first played in 1899 and have missed playing annually just six times.  According to www.wyomingathletics.com, though it is not a continuous streak, it is the oldest interstate rivalry west of the Mississippi River.

courtesy wyomingathletics.com

It is heated.  The similarities and geography of the schools breed a natural, good-natured hate for the other.  Both institutions are agricultural schools and only a 60-mile stretch of two-lane highway separate Fort Collins, Colorado, and Laramie Wyoming.  That is why it is referred to as the “Border War.”

It is a must win for both schools.  Some annual contests are falsely categorized as rivalries.  The annual Oklahoma-Oklahoma State contest is labeled as such but, in reality, it is far more important to Oklahoma State fans than to their counterpart.  This is not the case for CSU/Wyo.  Make no mistake, Ram and Cowboy fans want to win this game every year.

Enter the Bronze Boot.

In 1968, the ROTC detachments from both schools initiated a traveling trophy fashioned from an Army boot worn in Vietnam by a CSU graduate.  The winner of the Border War becomes the caretaker of the statue for a year.

Since Sonny Lubick landed in Fort Collins in 1993, the Rams have dominated the series.  Lubick’s squads have won the trophy nine times during his 12 seasons as head coach.  Colorado State has been a fixture in the WAC and Mountain West elite during that span.

However, according to Wyo head coach Joe Glenn, good times are a-comin’ for fans of Ragtime Cowboy Joe.  Last season was just the second year of the Glenn era in Laramie, but he led the Pokes to a second place conference finish and their first bowl victory since 1966.

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