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Reality

I get your point about Clemson but Laramie is as close to Denver as Logan is to Salt Lake. Logan to salt lake in the winter is terrible. Logan is freezing in the winter just like Laramie. They actually might get more snow.

Why can't we tie into that Denver market for revenue and also a student base like Utah state does with Salt lake metro area. I think a group with vision could tie into it somehow. If we don't figure it out soon we might just slip below the Montana schools.
The University of Wyoming is funded by Wyoming residents for the benefit of Wyoming residents. Its mission should not be to serve the residents of Colorado.

I wouldn’t want my tax dollars subsidizing the tuition of a kid from Colorado. Just my opinion though. Others may disagree.
 
The University of Wyoming is funded by Wyoming residents for the benefit of Wyoming residents. Its mission should not be to serve the residents of Colorado.

I wouldn’t want my tax dollars subsidizing the tuition of a kid from Colorado. Just my opinion though. Others may disagree.
This is very close minded thinking that has put Wyoming where it is now. "If you ain't from here...we don't want you" attitude is what has put the state in the state it's in (not in entirety), but that is the mindset of the wonderful residents of Wyoming. Either adapt and accept ideals that may possibly bring revenue into the state, or hold onto the antiquated mindset of whatever the fuck that is these days, and wither on the vine while the rest of the country passes you by.....

I love Wyoming and wish to this day (after 20+ years after graduation) that I could have found a place there
 
Total guess but it's better WYO per capita uses the community college system more than most areas. I think there's something like 17k+ community college students but no idea how many of those are just taking a cake decorating class or something. Still, it's not an insignificant number. WYO's juco system is great but sometimes I wonder if it hurts UW? Maybe kids end with associates but would have been more likely to pursue a bachelors if they started at UW. Maybe they get out of the house a couple years and decide they want to go farther away, but if they started at UW, they would have been more likely to stay? Total guesses.

Maybe the athletics being the front door is more accurate than we've given credit. Maybe people view UW like they do our athletic department?

I'll argue to my grave, however, that people are the problem. If you get the right people to teach, coach, research, administrate, whatever, it solves most problems. Focusing on how to get the right people and providing them resources to be successful is far more productive than focusing on things that can't be changed.
 
he University of Wyoming is funded by Wyoming residents for the benefit of Wyoming residents. Its mission should not be to serve the residents of Colorado.
What?? Colorado UW alums are the 3rd largest contingent of Cowboy Joe members donors. The parking lot on game day is filled with Colorado plates and the stream of cars going to the game. Largest recruiting area for UW sports! Face reality. On any given day in Colorado cars have Steamboat on their back windows. If the Admin had any clue they would be focusing more on the Colorado alums for donations and backing--that effort is so minimal and closed minded. Missing the boat on revenues. I know that free office space was offered to help the program and the alum group which went with no response!

That is why , among so many other reasons, CSU has Mora, UNLV in the championship game and New Mexico almost there and we are darn near dead last with Sawful!

Sad--such small minded thinking.
 
What?? Colorado UW alums are the 3rd largest contingent of Cowboy Joe members donors. The parking lot on game day is filled with Colorado plates and the stream of cars going to the game. Largest recruiting area for UW sports! Face reality. On any given day in Colorado cars have Steamboat on their back windows. If the Admin had any clue they would be focusing more on the Colorado alums for donations and backing--that effort is so minimal and closed minded. Missing the boat on revenues. I know that free office space was offered to help the program and the alum group which went with no response!

That is why , among so many other reasons, CSU has Mora, UNLV in the championship game and New Mexico almost there and we are darn near dead last with Sawful!

Sad--such small minded thinking.
Exactly. Also, the tuition break for kids whose parents are alumni, is nice, but then being ineligible for other things minimizes the benefit. I know we've talked about it on here before, but creating a better program for alumnus' kids, regardless of where they live, is really low hanging fruit.
 
Total guess but it's better WYO per capita uses the community college system more than most areas. I think there's something like 17k+ community college students but no idea how many of those are just taking a cake decorating class or something. Still, it's not an insignificant number. WYO's juco system is great but sometimes I wonder if it hurts UW? Maybe kids end with associates but would have been more likely to pursue a bachelors if they started at UW. Maybe they get out of the house a couple years and decide they want to go farther away, but if they started at UW, they would have been more likely to stay? Total guesses.

Maybe the athletics being the front door is more accurate than we've given credit. Maybe people view UW like they do our athletic department?

I'll argue to my grave, however, that people are the problem. If you get the right people to teach, coach, research, administrate, whatever, it solves most problems. Focusing on how to get the right people and providing them resources to be successful is far more productive than focusing on things that can't be changed.
Ragtime, you just jogged something in my brain. I was a dorm director when I was there.... We had a ton of kids drop out after their first semester... They never intended to go to college, but the Hathaway scholarship made it super cheap for kids to come for a semester, spend time at the Buckhorn, and then go back to farming/or JUCO as they always intended. When kids were kicked out or dropped out of school, they lost their housing, and I got to have some really interesting conversations with them.

Also, do you really think some of the things that are being discussed can't be changed?
 
What?? Colorado UW alums are the 3rd largest contingent of Cowboy Joe members donors. The parking lot on game day is filled with Colorado plates and the stream of cars going to the game. Largest recruiting area for UW sports! Face reality. On any given day in Colorado cars have Steamboat on their back windows. If the Admin had any clue they would be focusing more on the Colorado alums for donations and backing--that effort is so minimal and closed minded. Missing the boat on revenues. I know that free office space was offered to help the program and the alum group which went with no response!

That is why , among so many other reasons, CSU has Mora, UNLV in the championship game and New Mexico almost there and we are darn near dead last with Sawful!

Sad--such small minded thinking.
Yeah there's that growth mindset.
Total guess but it's better WYO per capita uses the community college system more than most areas. I think there's something like 17k+ community college students but no idea how many of those are just taking a cake decorating class or something. Still, it's not an insignificant number. WYO's juco system is great but sometimes I wonder if it hurts UW? Maybe kids end with associates but would have been more likely to pursue a bachelors if they started at UW. Maybe they get out of the house a couple years and decide they want to go farther away, but if they started at UW, they would have been more likely to stay? Total guesses.

Maybe the athletics being the front door is more accurate than we've given credit. Maybe people view UW like they do our athletic department?

I'll argue to my grave, however, that people are the problem. If you get the right people to teach, coach, research, administrate, whatever, it solves most problems. Focusing on how to get the right people and providing them resources to be successful is far more productive than focusing on things that can't be changed.
The right people are almost always the solution. The state, like the athletic department never learns that lesson. People are a recurring investment, that increase in expense over time. The fiscally conservative pissing match in the state legislature HATES that. But building buildings for example, that's "one time expense" that goes off the books. We'll do that all day long. F yeah.
 
This is very close minded thinking that has put Wyoming where it is now. "If you ain't from here...we don't want you" attitude is what has put the state in the state it's in (not in entirety), but that is the mindset of the wonderful residents of Wyoming. Either adapt and accept ideals that may possibly bring revenue into the state, or hold onto the antiquated mindset of whatever the fuck that is these days, and wither on the vine while the rest of the country passes you by.....

I love Wyoming and wish to this day (after 20+ years after graduation) that I could have found a place there
It has nothing to do with not wanting "outsiders" at UW. The problem that I have with the way rich22 presented his idea is that it includes reduced tuition to Colorado residents. Reduced tuition really just means tuition that is subsidized by the State of Wyoming and it's tax payers.

If I thought even a small number of those kids from Colorado would stay in the state after they graduated, I would change my tune. But they wouldn’t. They would go right back to Colorado where the jobs are. So, essentially, the Wyoming tax payers would be paying to educate a Colorado resident only to have them return to their home state immediately afterwards and contribute nothing to the Wyoming economy.

If UW/Wyoming want to target Colorado kids, I have no problem with that, but there needs to be something that is in the partnership that benefits Wyoming, especially if we are going to ask Wyoming tax payers to subsidize these kids' educations. One obvious way might be to offer the reduced tuition rate, but only if the kids agree to work in Wyoming for a certain number of years after graduation. One problem with this approach is you have to have open jobs for the graduates to take, and I'm not sure Wyoming does. It might work for very specific majors, particularly those in the energy sector.

I would even be happy with a partnership that included reduced tuition at Colorado public universities for all Wyoming residents. There is at least some benefit to Wyomingites in that partnership. But just giving reduced tuition to Colorado residents at the expense of Wyoming tax payers is not a good plan, especially when most of them go right back to Colorado after they graduate.
 
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For how many decades have young people left to find work that actually provided a livelihood?

I left when my job in Wyoming paid me so much 🤣 I was barely able to provide for my little family. It wasn’t a tough decision at all to get another job in a different state. Moved over 1,000 miles away the morning after Dembo and company defeated Clemson to make it to the final 4 of the NIT.

Now I am old and have lived away from Wyoming longer than I lived there. I moved around pursuing opportunities and reaped the dividends of my skills. My old job in Wyoming never got to 1/2 of what I earned doing the same thing elsewhere. There is simply nothing in Wyoming to entice me to be a resident. The winters suck longer than most places that suck in the winter. I don’t mind visiting the state in the summer but the summer turns into Wyoming football which is more often than not a tough season to endure. Basketball used to be the buffer to alleviate the pain but got so bad for so long and with the AA remake it’s not a draw to attend in person. Maybe, just maybe there will once again be that game to circle on the calendar in late February.

Not trying to put Wyoming down as I am still proud to be a native. PAPoke has simply stated why things are the way they are.
You were not loyal to Wyoming , but a lot are.
 
It has nothing to do with not wanting "outsiders" at UW. The problem that I have with the way rich22 presented his idea is that includes reduced tuition to Colorado residents. Reduced tuition really just means tuition that is subsidized by the State of Wyoming and it's tax payers.

If I thought even a small number of those kids from Colorado would stay in the state after they graduated, I would change my tune. But they wouldn’t. They would go right back to Colorado where the jobs are. So, essentially, the Wyoming tax payers would be paying to educate a Colorado resident only to have them return to their home state immediately afterwards and contribute nothing to the Wyoming economy.

If UW/Wyoming want to target Colorado kids, I have no problem with that, but there needs to be something that is in the partnership that benefits Wyoming, especially if we are going to ask Wyoming tax payers to subsidize these kids' educations. One obvious way might be to offer the reduced tuition rate, but only if the kids agree to work in Wyoming for a certain number of years after graduation. One problem with this approach is you have to have open jobs for the graduates to take, and I'm not sure Wyoming does. It might work for very specific majors, particularly those in the energy sector.

I would even be happy with a partnership that included reduced tuition at Colorado public universities for all Wyoming residents. There is at least some benefit to Wyomingites in that partnership. But just giving reduced tuition to Colorado residents at the expense of Wyoming tax payers is not a good plan, especially when most of them go right back to Colorado after they graduate.
I understand what you're saying. But reduced tuition doesn't mean the taxpayers of Wyoming are necessarily subsidizing anything unless it's less than the cost of attendance. If it costs the university $8K per student and Colorado students go to Wyoming for $18K instead of $22K that's lost revenue for sure (assuming the Colorado student would come anyway and pay full price) but it's not like the taxpayers are paying that $4K. That's still $10K ROI. Just to make the numbers easy, I don't know what It costs these days. I went to UW from out of state on reduced tuition from a partnership state (not CO) and paid 150% in state tuition. The taxpayers did not subsidize my attendance. But without it I would not have gone to UW. And I don't live in Wyoming (see jobs and growth conversation), but here I am and I would give my life for UW. It's an investment in different markets to drive attendance (revenue). I've easily donated that difference back to the school, and hopefully have another 50 years in me.
 
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It has nothing to do with not wanting "outsiders" at UW. The problem that I have with the way rich22 presented his idea is that it includes reduced tuition to Colorado residents. Reduced tuition really just means tuition that is subsidized by the State of Wyoming and it's tax payers.

If I thought even a small number of those kids from Colorado would stay in the state after they graduated, I would change my tune. But they wouldn’t. They would go right back to Colorado where the jobs are. So, essentially, the Wyoming tax payers would be paying to educate a Colorado resident only to have them return to their home state immediately afterwards and contribute nothing to the Wyoming economy.

If UW/Wyoming want to target Colorado kids, I have no problem with that, but there needs to be something that is in the partnership that benefits Wyoming, especially if we are going to ask Wyoming tax payers to subsidize these kids' educations. One obvious way might be to offer the reduced tuition rate, but only if the kids agree to work in Wyoming for a certain number of years after graduation. One problem with this approach is you have to have open jobs for the graduates to take, and I'm not sure Wyoming does. It might work for very specific majors, particularly those in the energy sector.

I would even be happy with a partnership that included reduced tuition at Colorado public universities for all Wyoming residents. There is at least some benefit to Wyomingites in that partnership. But just giving reduced tuition to Colorado residents at the expense of Wyoming tax payers is not a good plan, especially when most of them go right back to Colorado after they graduate.
You are overlooking/missing the FIXED costs of the buildings that are already here, etc... More students are necessary regardless of whether or not the tuition may be reduced in order to REDUCE the burden on state funds. IF the University doesn't do something to attract more students, the University faces imminent threats of having to slash entire programs that are necessary to produce workforce for this state.
 
What?? Colorado UW alums are the 3rd largest contingent of Cowboy Joe members donors. The parking lot on game day is filled with Colorado plates and the stream of cars going to the game. Largest recruiting area for UW sports! Face reality. On any given day in Colorado cars have Steamboat on their back windows. If the Admin had any clue they would be focusing more on the Colorado alums for donations and backing--that effort is so minimal and closed minded. Missing the boat on revenues. I know that free office space was offered to help the program and the alum group which went with no response!

That is why , among so many other reasons, CSU has Mora, UNLV in the championship game and New Mexico almost there and we are darn near dead last with Sawful!

Sad--such small minded thinking.
Ditto. I sent my kids to UW who were both Colorado HS graduates. Their husbands were from out of state but benefited from a parent who attended UW. I spent more money on the shit shows called Koenning, Glenn and Christensen along with Schroyer before I got disgusted with the programs and here’s why:

I'll argue to my grave, however, that people are the problem. If you get the right people to teach, coach, research, administrate, whatever, it solves most problems. Focusing on how to get the right people and providing them resources to be successful is far more productive than focusing on things that can't be changed.

I was tired of spending a lot of money trying to move up the CJC list along with buying season football tickets for 3 decades on the 50 yd line. Basketball was so bad that I quit buying season tickets.

I didn’t expect any special treatment other than what was offered with my donation but the product on the field/floor along with the long drive to hear Wyoming residents bitch about greenies ruining the state made me realize why I had to leave in the first place to seek opportunity.

I used to take my dad (UW) and my father-in-law (UW retiree) to every football game. But after they passed buying 3 season football tickets made no sense to watch losers and I had also moved away from Colorado.

I quit attending at least one football game in Laramie when Sawful was hired. The desire for Wyoming sports is not the same anymore and I put that squarely on the people decision making of Burman.

I like Wicks and would go to some games this year if I was still in Colorado. I just don’t like the AA anymore. It doesn’t feel good and the last game I went to with like 1,500 fans I was kicked out of the lower bowl because it was “reserved for season ticket holders”. No one was within 3 rows of me sitting by myself. I blame UW policy because I couldn’t buy a lower bowl ticket at the ticket window I went to.

Being a UW alumni is now just a memory and while my heart is fond of my home state, I am no longer motivated to make the effort to attend. It will take winning in conference and the potential of a championship to get me on the in person bandwagon for either sport as .500 or less is no longer a draw.
 
Wyoming population is aging more rapidly than any other state. The median age is now 40. So, you have to deal with the reality. You make it more attractive for out of state kids to come to Laramie. Give them a tuition break. They will spend money in Laramie bars and restaurants. Their parents may come and visit them. Those parents will spend money in the hotels and restaurants.
Call it a giveaway if you want. But empty classrooms don't generate any revenue. Having kids from other states should be encouraged. A little geographic diversity is a good thing. I remember growing up in Casper during the energy boom and every one was from somewhere else. It was an exciting time. If the school wants to thrive, a new approach is necessary.
 
You were not loyal to Wyoming , but a lot are.
Be careful there. Wyoming wasn’t loyal to its residents. An MIS degree over 40 years ago was rarely offered a Wyoming job. If there was an opening the pay was barely above being a manager at Taco Johns because there wasn’t a demand for the product in Wyoming.
 
Be careful there. Wyoming wasn’t loyal to its residents. An MIS degree over 40 years ago was rarely offered a Wyoming job. If there was an opening the pay was barely above being a manager at Taco Johns because there wasn’t a demand for the product in Wyoming.
It certainly wasn't loyal to me a WY HS graduate and UW Graduate. I had to immediately move to CO to find a job because outside of oil and gas the state as a whole was anti growth. I have a BS and an MS in GIS with over 20+ years in the industry plus halfway to an LS and PhD in Geomatics and I would be hard pressed to find a job because all the boomers didn't want Wyoming turning into CO with all the growth.
 
Be careful there. Wyoming wasn’t loyal to its residents. An MIS degree over 40 years ago was rarely offered a Wyoming job. If there was an opening the pay was barely above being a manager at Taco Johns because there wasn’t a demand for the product in Wyoming.
I’m just saying a lot have chosen to not chase money and sacrifice to live here. I could leave too, but I love my home so I don’t. All I was saying. So it’s not good to trash talk this place and its people, either
 
I’m just saying a lot have chosen to not chase money and sacrifice to live here. I could leave too, but I love my home so I don’t. All I was saying. So it’s not good to trash talk this place and its people, either
That’s cool Lander. I didn’t leave to intentionally chase big money. I did get a better job in another state when I was eligible for food stamps and WIC in Wyoming putting on a shirt and tie to be a “professional” in a job that required a degree but paid extremely poor to “welfare” a family of 3 at the time. My dignity level was compromised even though I was sad to leave my home. I asked for a $2k raise to get off welfare and was told to pound sand. That shaped my mindset about the Wyoming economy and I never looked back.

Spent time in Cheyenne for a funeral last summer before touring the state and it is the best I have ever seen it. I think it helps being a short stint away from the massive front range population. It’s not cheap to buy a house in Cheyenne anymore and I am guessing if I was starting out in the working world the jobs situation has improved somewhat. Not interested in an affordable place like Rawlins after visiting the old state penitentiary but enjoyed Lander and touring South Pass last June if you’ve ever been those places.

My point is focused on the disappointment of Wyoming athletics lacking a higher level of MWC competitiveness. The rest of the stuff as far as greenies (out of state) goes is banter to describe why Wyoming is not a move to destination for the average person. I see the beautiful places like Jackson and Star Valley (even Lander) have had outside wealth come in but that hasn’t translated into a plethora of new jobs. I looked into Star Valley for a summer home a couple of years ago and found it was not an affordable option.

Enjoy what you do where you choose. For me I just want the Cowboys to matter and not fade to irrelevance regardless of where I reside.

Don’t forget the point of this conversation is the mutual desire each of us as Cowboy fans have is winning a conference championship. Unfortunately the focus easily migrates to the negatives which comes with perpetual losing.
 
It has nothing to do with not wanting "outsiders" at UW. The problem that I have with the way rich22 presented his idea is that it includes reduced tuition to Colorado residents. Reduced tuition really just means tuition that is subsidized by the State of Wyoming and it's tax payers.

If I thought even a small number of those kids from Colorado would stay in the state after they graduated, I would change my tune. But they wouldn’t. They would go right back to Colorado where the jobs are. So, essentially, the Wyoming tax payers would be paying to educate a Colorado resident only to have them return to their home state immediately afterwards and contribute nothing to the Wyoming economy.

If UW/Wyoming want to target Colorado kids, I have no problem with that, but there needs to be something that is in the partnership that benefits Wyoming, especially if we are going to ask Wyoming tax payers to subsidize these kids' educations. One obvious way might be to offer the reduced tuition rate, but only if the kids agree to work in Wyoming for a certain number of years after graduation. One problem with this approach is you have to have open jobs for the graduates to take, and I'm not sure Wyoming does. It might work for very specific majors, particularly those in the energy sector.

I would even be happy with a partnership that included reduced tuition at Colorado public universities for all Wyoming residents. There is at least some benefit to Wyomingites in that partnership. But just giving reduced tuition to Colorado residents at the expense of Wyoming tax payers is not a good plan, especially when most of them go right back to Colorado after they graduate.
New Mexico does it as a matter of course. My daughter went to UNM at in-state tuition rate just because she was a Colorado resident.
 
I’m just saying a lot have chosen to not chase money and sacrifice to live here. I could leave too, but I love my home so I don’t. All I was saying. So it’s not good to trash talk this place and its people, either
When people say things like "you are not loyal to Wyoming"...it's hard to read that as anything but an insult centered around an accusation of disloyalty. Maybe you don't hold any moral value to things like loyalty but a lot of people fee a bit insulted when somebody calls them disloyal.

Movement of people for economic reasons is as old as time. I don't begrudge anybody for trying to make a better life for themselves. If it ever was the goal, Wyoming as a state has not succeeded in diversifying it's economy to the point of being an attractive destination for bright young people. The University of Wyoming should be a driver of progress and development for creating that destination. To the extent that Wyoming continues to look (economically) like Alaska or North Dakota, our institutions will look like that as well. There is nothing inherently wrong with that...it just is what it is.
 
New Mexico does it as a matter of course. My daughter went to UNM at in-state tuition rate just because she was a Colorado resident.
UNM participates in the WUE program which offers reduced tuition to Colorado residents, but is typically not at in-state rates. Usually it is 150% of the in-state tuition.

The University of Wyoming already participates in the WUE program as well. Even now, if Colorado residents want to attend UW, they can with tuition just a little over $12k per year. I'm not sure how much more we can discount tuition to Colorado residents without UW taking a loss or the State of Wyoming subsidizing the difference.
 
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