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On March 14, the men’s basketball team upset the San Diego State Aztecs in Las Vegas to take home the University of Wyoming’s first-ever Mountain West Conference tournament title, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
Propelled by a star lineup of seniors, including Larry Nance Jr., Derek Cooke Jr., top free-throw shooter Riley Grabau, Charles Hankerson Jr. and Jack Bentz, the Cowboys beat Utah State and then top-seeded Boise State to make it to the championship. Junior Josh Adams was the tournament MVP.
“I love the way these guys play,” UW head coach Larry Shyatt says. “I'm so happy for our ball club, for our university and most of all for these five seniors.”
UW President Dick McGinity says, “I couldn't be prouder of our Cowboys and Cowgirls. Those of us who were fortunate enough to see them here in Las Vegas—and by the way, the turnout of UW fans was tremendous—witnessed these student-athletes represent our state with absolute class. They displayed persistence, determination and resilience and were role models for all Wyomingites, even as we lost a remarkable role model earlier in the week with the death of Mick McMurry.”
The Cowboys returned to Laramie March 15 for a celebration and NCAA watch party at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center, where it was announced that they’d be heading into the championships as the No. 12 seed. The Cowboys last made an NCAA Championships appearance in 2002. Although they fell March 20 to the University of Northern Iowa Panthers, the 2014–15 season was truly spectacular.
“Coach Shyatt and the Cowboys have made this a very special season,” President McGinity says. “Their performance in Las Vegas was historic and inspirational for the entire state and Cowboys supporters everywhere.”
