Athletic MVPs

 

Meet former UW student-athletes still playing, coaching and leading their respective sports.

 

By Micaela Myers

 

Buffalo Bills Quarterback Josh Allen
Buffalo Bills quarterback and University of Wyoming alumnus Josh Allen took home the NFL’s 2024 Most Valuable Player (MVP) award after a historic season in which he led his team to the AFC championship game. Allen also holds the record for the most touchdowns in a player’s first seven seasons. The list of accolades goes on, but it all started right here at UW — the only Division 1 school to take a chance on Allen. 

“There was a lot of hard work, a lot of sweat, a lot of blood that was poured into our practice facility to go out there on game day and have some really special games,” Allen says, adding that the lifelong friendships he made with teammates at UW are the greatest legacy. “It’s a really cool feeling knowing that we worked so hard but we developed a lifelong bond in Laramie and at the University of Wyoming.”

 

Allen stood 6-foot-5 and weighed 235 pounds as a Cowboys quarterback, but as a senior in high school, in the small farming community of Firebaugh, Calif., Allen topped out at 185. He received almost no interest from NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision schools and ended up playing his freshman season at a community college near home before joining the Cowboys in 2015. 

At UW, Allen flourished, helping take the Cowboys to the Mountain West Conference division title and on to the 2017 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. In 2018, he was drafted in the first round and has stayed with the Buffalo Bills, earning multiple Pro Bowl berths. This fall, Allen will be inducted into the UW Athletics Hall of Fame and will appear at the Nov. 22 Cowboys game against Nevada. 

“To have the support that I do in Wyoming, it’s really unbelievable,” Allen says. “This will be my first time back to Laramie since Pro Day, so hopefully I get to see a lot of No. 17 jerseys and some Bills jerseys in the stands. It’s going to be a special night. It’s always fun — sometimes you see those maps of where games are being played or who fans are rooting for and you look at Wyoming and it’s (Bills) blue, not orange. It’s an honor to have that support that I do.”

He is just one example of the many future MVPs whom UW has welcomed, mentored and sent out into the world to flourish. 

 

Cincinnati Bengals Linebacker Logan Wilson
Casper native played Cowboys football from 2015–20 before he was drafted in the third round as a linebacker by the Cincinnati Bengals, where he has flourished as a starter. “Wyoming was and still is the best place a Wyoming kid can play,” he says. “I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.”

 

Ravens’ Senior Secondary Coach Chuck Pagano
When Chuck Pagano graduated from UW, he began his football coaching career in the college ranks. By 2001, he’d joined the NFL, serving in coaching positions with the Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens before being named head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2012–17. Along the way, he dealt with leukemia. After working with the Chicago Bears, he rejoined the Baltimore Ravens earlier this year. 

“The No. 1 thing that probably helped prepare me for life after graduating from UW was self-motivation that came from having to walk-on to the Wyoming football team, earn a scholarship and earn playing time,” says Pagano, who grew up in Boulder, Colo. “It taught me discipline, resolve and perseverance. There were over 100 walk-ons on the team, and there were only a handful of us left at the end of that first season in 1979. I had great mentors like Coach Al Kincaid and Rocky Long who gave me the opportunity to begin my career in coaching as a student assistant for Wyoming after my playing days were over. I learned at a young age the sacrifices necessary to have a chance to succeed in a very competitive field.”

But his time at UW wasn’t all hard work. Here, he made lifelong friends and standout memories that he carries with him to this day. 

“We had some great victories — like beating the Colorado Buffalos in Boulder,” Pagano says. “I scored a touchdown on an interception made by Darnell Clash who, at the end of a great return, lateraled me the ball while being tackled near the goal line. That was a ‘can’t-make-this-kind-of-thing-up’ story! Also, I remember beating BYU in a snowstorm in Laramie and watching their quarterback, Jim McMahon, throw temper tantrums and curse out his offensive linemen. I will also always remember my final two years living in ‘the Bunkhouse’ with 27 other upperclassmen on the football team. We had some great get-togethers and Nintendo tournaments and watched a lot of ‘M*A*S*H’ and ‘Young and the Restless’ episodes! I am so grateful and thankful for my time and experience at UW. Go Pokes!”

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More Cowboys in the NFL
Carl Granderson - New Orleans Saints
Frank Crum - Denver Broncos
Marcus Epps - Philadelphia Eagles
Chad Muma - Indianapolis Colts
Andrew Wingard - Jacksonville Jaguars
John Hoyland – Ravens 
Treyton Welch – New Orleans Saints 
Tyler Hall – Seattle Seahawks 

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Gainbridge Super League President Amanda Vandervort
Amanda Vandervort came to UW from Tucson, Ariz., in 1997, only the second year of the women’s soccer team.

“My experience as a student-athlete was pretty special — feeling the support of the community and of the university,” she says.

Vandervort graduated with her degree in communication in 2001 and went on to hold positions with Women’s Professional Soccer, Major League Soccer and FIFPRO — the global players association based in Amsterdam — before being named president of Gainbridge Super League, a USL Property, in 2021.

“I do a lot of public speaking and interviews with the media, and my degree really prepared me,” says Vandervort, who went on to earn a master’s degree in educational technology.

“In my current role, I oversee the women’s professional soccer league in the U.S.,” she says. That includes the league’s nine teams and governance, administration and oversight.

“My North Star is positively affecting people’s lives through the sport of soccer,” Vandervort says. “To be able to provide a platform for more women, girls and communities across the United States to have that experience is a gift and an honor.”

As president, she hopes to take her league to new heights as one of the best in the world. Vandervort also serves on the board of U.S. Soccer, which is preparing for the men’s World Cup next summer and the women’s World Cup in 2031. She also stays in close contact with her former UW teammates.

“We go on vacations together, we’re on a group chat — it’s honestly my main support network,” Vandervort says. “We’ve been through divorces and deaths and marriages and kids and all the things you can imagine together.”

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Cleveland Cavaliers Forward-Center Larry Nance Jr.

Larry Nance Jr. arrived at UW in 2011 from Akron, Ohio, and became a legend in UW basketball, culminating in his 2014–15 season when Nance helped lead the Cowboys to a Mountain West tournament title and its first NCAA Tournament since 2001–02. 

“At UW, I met my wife, my best friend and my dog, so Wyoming will always be near and dear to my heart,” Nance says. 

He met swimmer Hailey Pince of Shoshoni, Wyo., while they were student-athletes, and the couple now have two children.

“On the court, my highlight at UW was definitely the NCAA Tournament and beating fifth-ranked San Diego State at home.,” Nance says. “That was fun for our home fans. I am incredibly thankful for Larry Shyatt and Wyoming for allowing me to grow there.”

The new revenue-sharing model for college sports can put smaller schools like UW at a disadvantage, but Nance says he wouldn’t change a thing if he had it to do over again.

“I could have gone to a bigger program or transferred to a bigger program with more attention and maybe gone to the tournament more times, but I wouldn’t have gotten to grow into a player and person that I am today,” he says. “I’m very thankful for my time there. If I had the chance to do it all again, I’d go straight back to Laramie.”

Upon graduation, Nance was drafted 27th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers. Since then, he’s played for the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Atlanta Hawks and now, once again, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“Ten years in the NBA is pretty good,” Nance says. “I got to be a Los Angeles Laker, and I got to go to the finals. I’ve surpassed my wildest dreams so far. I’m only 32, and I think I’ve got more years left and would love to play until I can’t anymore. I’ve done some really cool things that I wouldn’t have done if I hadn’t gone to Wyoming.”

 

International Basketball Star Josh Adams
Josh Adams’ favorite memory of playing with the Cowboys is winning the 2015 Mountain West tournament final to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. For his efforts, Adams claimed MVP honors.  

“We had a lot of guys on the team who stayed there for four years, so those friendships that I made are still active today,” says Adams, who graduated in 2016 with his degree in criminal justice after coming to UW from Parker, Colo.

He’s been playing professional basketball ever since in countries around the world, including Russia, Turkey, China, Spain, Italy, Australia, Slovenia and Greece.

“Istanbul is one of the most amazing cities I’ve ever been able to live in,” Adams says. “Spain was one of my favorite locations, clubs and leagues. Slovenia’s small capital city, Ljubljana, is a fairytale with all the old castles and structures. It’s a really beautiful place. However, it was hard to beat living on the southern coast of Spain, especially when you have a good team.”

With the Tasmania JackJumpers in the National Basketball League’s 2022 season, Adams led the team to a Grand Final appearance and earned a spot on the All-NBL Second Team for his outstanding performances.

“For an expansion team to get to the finals was kind of unheard of,” he says. 

Last season, Adams played for the Brisbane Bullets. He’s still considering outstanding contract offers, but after a decade of competing he’s now looking toward a future in sports psychology and is completing his master’s degree in clinical psychology. 

“My business, P.I.V.O.T. Growth Strategies, is going to focus on consulting with athletes and teaching the mental skills required to navigate high-level basketball and be as effective as they possibly can be,” he says.