There was a time when John Easterbrook thought the game of football would be his ticket to college.

After all, he was a quarterback at Laramie High School.  His father (John, Sr.) was the offensive coordinator for the Cowboys. It's in the genes. Done deal, right?

Well, no, not exactly.  Through marvelous career decisions and a lot of hard work Easterbrook has become one of the most influential administrators in professional golf, and a significant contributor to the Wyoming golf program.

Golf is in the genes too.

Director of Golf Joe Jensen has seen Easterbrook's passion and love for Wyoming golf first hand. "John has been a great friend to me, to our program, and to the university," Jensen says.  "He has been extremely philanthropic and important to Wyoming golf, and the Cowboy Joe Club.  He loves Wyoming and is very proud of our program.

"When I got the job in 2002, I wanted to think outside the box regarding our golf program," Jensen continues.  "That thinking included hosting Cowboy and Cowgirl tournaments away from our campus.  I thought it could be an excellent recruiting tool. It's common now, but back then collegiate golf programs hosting events in other states was not happening.  John was a vice president at Troon Golf at the time and helped us get these unique events started because of his association with great golf courses.  The tournaments we host in Arizona, thanks to John, have grown into major events and have been extremely important not only to Cowboy and Cowgirl golf, but collegiate golf as well.  They were groundbreaking, and John has been with us every step of the way."

Easterbrook's decision following his senior year at Laramie High would change his life, and positioned him to be able to give back.

"I grew up with golf and football," John says. "I enjoyed golf, but really had no idea it would be my future.  "I played football in high school, and my dad was a college football coach.  I thought football was my future.  I received several football offers from smaller D-I schools, and Wyoming talked to me about walking on.

"But after my senior year, I felt like I didn't quite have the passion for football that I believed was necessary to be successful. Golf was very much a part of my upbringing too.  Not only was my dad an outstanding golfer, but I would spend summers around the game with my grandparents in Tucson.  My grandfather (Bob Klewin) was instrumental in creating Tucson National.  So golf was big in my family. I had a great time playing golf that summer after my senior year, and I really feel in love with the game.

"I had received the Milward Simpson scholarship after high school which required recipients to pick a sport. I chose to play golf."

What a choice it would be.  A four-year letterman for Wyoming, Easterbrook was all-conference and a team captain.  His mindset was all golf.

"I graduated with a degree in finance.  I wanted golf to be my future, but I knew I wasn't good enough to play professionally and make a career out of it.  I had to find a way to get into the business side."

He melded his degree and his passion for golf into an amazing career.  He got into golf course management, and after working for hotels with resort golf properties in Arizona and Chicago, Easterbrook made another major decision.

He decided to accept an offer from a fledgling company called Troon Golf.

"Troon was a young company involved in managing golf properties," John says.  "I think they were managing maybe six golf courses at the time.  I really liked what they were doing, and decided to make a leap of faith.  It was the best move I could have made.

"Today, Troon Golf manages some 475 golf courses in 43 states and 31 countries and has somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 employees.  It's now the biggest third-party golf course management company in the world, and I'm so proud to have been a part of its growth."

After 20 years with Troon, John made another big career decision.  

While not looking to leave Troon, he got a call from the Professional Golf Association to become the Chief Membership Officer for PGA of America which is made up of nearly 29,000 PGA Professionals, both men and women. The purpose of PGA of America is to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. It is the largest sports membership organization in the country.  John represents that membership.

Some of PGA America's most notable contributions to the game include hosting the Ryder Cup, the PGA Championship, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. 

"I love the game of golf," John says, "and I love helping the men and women who are the PGA professionals.  I really enjoy working hard for them, to make the game better for everyone."

 There is nobody I know of who loves Laramie and UW more than John Easterbrook. 

"I spent 15 years growing up in Laramie, including my four years as a Cowboy," says John.  "Even with the good fortune I've had, those have been the best years of my life.

"Wyoming is special," he continues, "the quality of its people, their respectfulness, and their pride.  Wyoming people pull for Wyoming people. I have Steamboat on almost everything I own.  I spend a lot of time in airports and on planes and everywhere I go, there will be someone who sees that bucking horse and says 'go Pokes'."

Well, almost everyone.  "I was sitting on a plane one day," John recalls, "with an open seat next to me.  Who boards and sits in that open seat, none other than Danny Ainge.  "He says hello, and I tell him I can't talk to him.  I'm from Wyoming I said I was in school when we beat you guys in the Fieldhouse in double overtime (86-84 in late February of 1981).  He said, 'well, then, I can't talk to you either'.  We both laughed and had a great visit.  It was one of the shortest plane rides I've ever had." 

John's dad was Wyoming's offensive coordinator from 1971-74.  He was a great college quarterback at the University of Illinois.  He would eventually become a college administrator.

"I'll always remember we upset Arizona State in 1972," John says.  "They were ranked in the Top 10, and we beat them, 45-43.  I'll never forget how happy we were, and how excited he was when he got home that night.  We were all so excited.  I've never lost that excitement for Wyoming."

Ironically neither John, nor his brother Jed, who played baseball for the Cowboys, chose the coaching profession.  Jed is a regional manager for FieldTurf.  "You'd think one of us would have gotten into it," Easterbrook says, "because dad was a great teacher of both golf and football.  I have fond memories of playing golf with him at Jacoby (golf course in Laramie) while Jed and I were growing up.

"Even though I didn't get into coaching, my leadership philosophy has always been based on a coaching perspective." 

John is Brown and Gold through and through.

"I know this, Wyoming golf has taken me around the world.  It gave me my start, and I will always do anything I can to help the program remain relevant.

"I wish I could have figured out a way to stay in Wyoming," he says.  "But I love coming back to attend games.  Those events are the state's gathering place, and it's so much fun to re-connect with everyone.

"When I have an opportunity to come back, and I'm on I-80, my heart starts racing when I see Lincoln's Monument.  I know I'm home."

Wyoming will always hold a spot open for you, John!