What's the most visible symbol of Cowboy football?

Is it that iconic helmet, which I believe is the best in the country?

Is it Craig Bohl?

Might it be Sean Chambers, Josh Allen, or Logan Wilson?

Of course you'd be right if you identified any or all of the above as the most visible. 

But possibly the most visible icon is something we rarely talk about.

I'm talking about the Peterbilt 387 tractor and 53-foot equipment trailer that crisscrosses the country carrying some 10,000 pounds of football gear to Wyoming's away football games, and sits by the equipment room on home games.

"It's a 53-foot billboard on wheels," says Joshua Donald—we just call him J.D.--Jordan, Wyoming's Director of Athletic Equipment Operations. "That tractor-trailer is a labor of love for all of us, the companies who provide it and the drivers to us, and all of us in the equipment room."

Those companies are Arrow Moving and Storage of Cheyenne, which donates the trailer and the drivers, and Casper's Peterbilt of Wyoming, which donates the tractor. Mike Ottoes owns Arrow, and Fred Devore owns Peterbilt.

"There's no financial gain for these companies," J.D. says.  "They do it because they take great pride in supporting the University, and Cowboy football.  It is the most important piece of equipment that we have.  Without a doubt, we have one of the best deals in the country."

For the 2020 season Wyoming will have a brand new trailer.

According to J.D., it was time for a change. "We had some bad luck with that trailer, so it was time for a new one. What Arrow is providing for us is going to be perfect.  It has a drop deck which makes it much easier to load, as well as a side door which is also helpful especially for some of the stadiums we visit. We also built shelves in it, so it is basically a double-deck trailer. It is perfect for our needs, really nice, and we are so appreciative."

A new trailer means new artwork.  Arrow's 53-foot trailer will be "wrapped" with a new Wyoming design which is a collaboration among JD, his assistant Dan Hubbard, Jackie McMillian, the athletic department's assistant graphic artist, and Western Specialty Company.  

"Jackie worked really hard on this," J.D. says.  "There were lots of conference calls and a couple of in-person meetings with Western Specialty to get it exactly like we wanted.

"I think everyone will be pleased," he continues. "We think it represents Wyoming very well.  It just feels like Wyoming."  There will be a new picture of the stadium, we will have the Code of the West on it as well as the state flag and our horse and rider. It also has the words to Cowboy Joe included along with the logos of our three sponsors, Pepsi, Adidas and Arrow."

The new trailer should be finished with the wrapping process in a couple of weeks.

J.D. gave me a list of equipment that is loaded onto the truck for a road trip.  It's staggering.  It's a four-page list of trunks, bags, shoulder pads, helmets, cleats and anything else you could possibly think of to outfit a team. For colder games, heaters, heated benches are included. For warmer climes, fog machines are loaded. Various things are packed in stages from Sunday through Thursday evening, when the truck departs for the road venue following that day's practice.

"On Sunday after a game through Thursday we are loading the trailer," J.D. says.  "Everything is timed.  We can actually load some things on Sunday.  Thursday after practice we finish the job and lock it up for the trip."

Unless there is a weather issue, the two drivers—John Weaver and Aaron Bird—leave on Thursday evening, whether they're headed for Louisiana, San Diego or Air Force.  "They'll leave hours after Thursday's practice, and they're always at the site when we get there," says J.D. "John and Double A take as much pride in that truck as anyone.  They know that it is the most visible sign of Cowboy football.  Not only do that help us load and unload, but they wash the entire rig before they park it at the stadium for game-day.  It's as special to them as it is to us."

There are a total of eight members of the equipment staff who work football and travel with the team.  J.D., Hubbard and six student managers handle the equipment duties.

"Our main goal is to be ready for any situation whether it's players, coaches or staff.  We don't want any surprises.  We have so many checks and balances that it's very hard for something to get left behind or forgotten.  We pack the jersey, pant and game loop ahead of time.  We go through a re-decal of the helmets on Monday. Since we only have one helmet, we go through them again on Friday either on the road or here.  We are one of the rare schools that has just one helmet.  Having one is not only fiscally responsible, but there's also a safety factor involved, we're fitting one helmet for the year. It's my opinion, but I believe we have the best helmet in the country.  It's clean, classic and iconic."  I agree with you J.D.

There's no question the tractor-trailer is a very visible symbol of Cowboy football.  Plus it streamlines the work of the equipment staff. "There is a lot of planning and work that goes into that truck," says J.D.

There's a lot of pride and love that goes into it as well.  Take a look when you are at War Memorial for a game this season.  It'll be parked just east of the Indoor Practice Facility.

I'll bet you'll have a little bit of pride too, when you see it.