EAST HARTFORD, Conn., -- Jay Sawvel gets to check another state off his list when the Cowboys travel to Connecticut Saturday to take on the Huskies.

"I have six states I haven't been to yet," Wyoming's defensive coordinator said. "I get to check one off."

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Azizi Hearn has never been to The Constitution State either. Same goes for Esaias Gandy.

Why on earth is Wyoming traveling nearly 1,900 miles to play a football game?

There's 1.1 million reasons why.

That's how much dough Clemson paid the Cowboys to get out of a scheduled game that was supposed to take place this fall. The Tigers instead wanted to play Georgia in Charlotte to open the season.

Who could blame them?

After COVID-19 did so much damage to the UW Athletic Department -- like so many others around the country -- who can blame athletics director Tom Burman?

In a story by USA Today earlier this month, Alyssa Hertel broke down what happened behind the scenes.

After Clemson canceled, the school actually connected UConn and Wyoming so the Cowboys would have an immediate fallback game. The Tigers and Huskies will also meet this season, but because of the hook up, their bill for the game was reduced from $1.2 million to $900,000. UConn will not pay UW for the trip to East Hartford.

"We’re playing UConn and Clemson is rerouting money to us," Burman told USA Today. "So, at the end of the day, we almost become whole from what we would have gotten at Clemson."

Check out that story right HERE.

 

 

Famous alumni

Actress Meg Ryan tops the list of famous alums from UConn. Singer, Moby, also spent his college days in Storrs. So did former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model, Michelle Lombardo, producer Lee Eisenberg (The Office, Bad Teacher), Chris Gifford (Co-creature of Dora the Explorer), Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live), Richard Termine (Puppet designer - Sesame Street) and producer Stuart “Skip” Schoolnik (The Walking Dead), among many others.

Of course, we can't talk about UConn without bringing up hoops. The men's team has won four national championships. The women, 11.

Safe to say this is a basketball school?

Here are some famous ballers that have suited up for those two squads:

* Rebecca Lobo
* Diana Taurasi
* Breana Stewart
* Kara Wolters
* Sue Bird
* Jennifer Rizzotti
* Maya Moore
* Ray Allen
* Andre Drummond
* Cliff Robinson
* Donyell Marshall
* Kemba Walker
* Emeka Okafor
* Kevin Ollie
* Shabazz Napier
* Richard Hamilton

UConn has also produced Major League Baseball players Charles Nagy, George Springer and Matt Barnes. University of Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz also went to school in New England.

We could be a little bias here, but we think the most famous person currently on campus at UConn is cornerbacks coach Darrell Perkins.

Why?

He's a former Wyoming running back.

Perkins played for the Cowboys from 1985-89. He was on the 1987 and '88 Holiday Bowl teams. After graduation -- and coaching hoops at Legacy High School in Fort Collins for four seasons -- he followed former head coach Joe Tiller to Purdue and helped lead the Boilermakers to the 2001 Rose Bowl.

 

Here is all you need to know about Saturday's tilt in New England:

WHO: Wyoming (3-0, 0-0) at UConn (0-4)
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 25 at 1:30 p.m. MST
WEATHER: High of 74, low of 53, cloudy with showers, winds at 6 mph
WHERE: Rentschler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium, East Hartford, Conn.
TRAVEL: CT Travel Smart
TVCBS Sports Network (Channel 221 on DirecTV, 158 on Dish, stream on Hulu, Fubo and YouTube TV)
RADIO: Cowboy Sports Network
STREAMING: CBS Sports Network
TICKETS: UW Ticket Central or UConn Ticket office
BOX SCORE: ESPN
ROSTERS: Wyoming / UConn
BETMGM ODDS: Wyoming -29.5, O/U 54.5 (Could be subject to change)
HISTORY: First meeting
HEAD COACHES: Craig Bohl / Lou Spanos

University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players

During the summer of 2021, 7220Sports.com counted down the Top 50 football players in University of Wyoming history, presented by Premier Bone & Joint Centers, Worthy of Wyoming.

The rules are simple: What was the player's impact while in Laramie? That means NFL stats, draft status or any other accolade earned outside of UW is irrelevant when it comes to this list.

This isn't a one-man job. This task called for a panel of experts. Joining 7220's Cody Tucker are Robert GagliardiJared NewlandRyan Thorburn, and Kevin McKinney.

We all compiled our own list of 50 and let computer averages do the work. Think BCS -- only we hope this catalog is fairer.

Don't agree with a selection? Feel free to sound off on our Twitter: @7220sports - #Top50UWFB

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players

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