LARAMIE – Mark Branch has always been a Cowboy.
 
For over three decades that was in his native Oklahoma.
 
Branch was a two-time individual national champion and member of Oklahoma State's 1994 NCAA championship team before serving as the powerhouse program's associate head coach for six seasons.
 
Now entering his 17^th season as Wyoming's head coach, Branch said he started bleeding brown and gold somewhere along the journey.
 
Maybe it was all those conversations with Joe Dowler, the legendary former UW wrestling coach who picked Branch up at the airport and drove him to his interview with athletics director Tom Burman in the summer of 2008.
 
Maybe it was while coaching nine All-Americans, including two-time NCAA finalist Bryce Meredith, and 29 conference champions while guiding UW through a dominant seven-year finish in the Western Wrestling Conference before making the Cowboys competitive over the last nine years in the rugged Big 12.
 
More likely, it was while raising four children with his wife, Alysia, in Laramie when Branch realized he was a true Wyoming Cowboy.
 
When his noteworthy coaching career ends, Branch plans to be a casual, friendly practice observer for his successor. The late Dowler spent many of his days in retirement watching Branch rebuild the program.
 
"Now I look at that and that's probably me. One of these days I'm probably going to turn those reins over and I'm probably still going to be in that wrestling room and not involved, just enjoying it and soaking it in up," Branch said during an interview on the One Wyoming Podcast. "A part of me will always be here, and I know that a part of Wyoming is always going to be with me. I hope that relationship, back and forth, is always there. …
 
"This will always be my home."
 
In that spirit, Branch and the Pokes begin the highly anticipated 2024-25 season with another unprecedented Wyoming event.
 
UW will host Campbell in the "Dual at the Daddy" at 6 p.m. Thursday at Frontier Park in Cheyenne. There are no public tickets available for the NCAA's first match of the season, which will be broadcast exclusively by UFC Fight Pass.
 
"This is something special and unique about the state of Wyoming. Anyone who knows anything about Wyoming or rodeo across the world knows Cheyenne Frontier Days," Branch said. "So, when I got them on board it was full throttle ahead. It's just something we're super excited about."
 
A year ago, the two programs met in the "Battle of the Barn" on the Deerwood Ranch near Centennial. Immediately after the dual, Campbell and the UFC told Branch they wanted to recreate the experience again.
 
"This many years in college wrestling it takes a lot to get the hair to go up on the back of my neck. I mean, I was actually a little bit nauseous," Branch said. "I was nervous, I had butterflies and was like this is weird, I haven't felt this in a while. It's like a national finals type deal where you're out there coaching on the stage in front of the whole world at the NCAA finals. It takes something special and that was so special."
 
The Cowboys, led by All-American Jore Volk (125 pounds) and fellow NCAA qualifiers Gabe Willochell (149) and Joey Novak (197), have a chance to have a memorable season. Branch's deep, experienced squad returns six other regulars from the lineup and welcomes impact transfers Jared Hill (Oklahoma) and Sam Mitchell (Buffalo).
 
This will be a rare pre-November litmus test for the Pokes. Campbell won last year's dual and is the SoCon Conference favorite with four returners from last year's NCAA championships.
 
"This is a team that I want to see how they do against the best," Branch said. "They need it because I think there's an opportunity for our team to jump up to another level and have a record-breaking season for Wyoming. You really aren't going to know how to do that unless you hit some obstacles, hit some bumps, hit some challenges. That's how you make those adjustments."
 
UW will host Western Wyoming on Nov. 9 in the UniWyo Sports Complex before hitting the road for Big 12 duals at No. 3 Oklahoma State (Nov. 22) and No. 22 Oklahoma (Nov. 23).
 
The Cowboys begin a home-and-home series against reigning national champion and top-ranked Penn State on Dec. 15 in University Park, Penn. The Nittany Lions, who have won three consecutive NCAA team titles and 12 overall, will visit Laramie next season.
 
"They've set the bar for every school in the country and to go up there and put our guys in that environment at Rec Hall and wrestle against the best team in the country, it shouldn't intimidate our guys," Branch said. "Our guys need to be excited about it. … You build a program by taking challenges head on."
 
Like many longtime head coaches in a variety of sports, Branch had to adjust to the new era of collegiate sports in which athletes are free to enter the portal, transfer without penalty and monetize their name, image and likeness.
 
UW experienced some painful attrition, but Branch recalibrated and put together a team that has rejuvenated his love of the mat.
 
"I think we changed some of the ways that we cultivate our program as coaches and the way that we lead our guys. I think it has really shown in the closeness they've started to initiate themselves and the culture of their team," Branch said. "There was probably three years ago where I looked in the mirror a lot and thought how long can I do this, and can I figure it out? Can I figure out how to have the joy in coaching?
 
"These last couple years have just been nothing but excitement and fun. It definitely renews you as a coach."
 
Dowler posted an incredible 104-64-1 dual record with four Mountain Intercollegiate Wrestling Association titles and three Western Athletic Conference championships during his time as head coach from 1973-87.
 
Steven Suder, an All-American under Dowler, was 127-136-2 with two more WAC championships as head coach from 1989-2008.
 
Branch, who has a 139-88 dual record, is three victories away from becoming the winningest coach in the program's 103-year history.
 
Dr. Everett Lantz, the longest tenured coach in UW history, had a dual record of 149-81-8 over three stints and 25 years leading the Cowboys (1936-43, 1946-52 and 1953-65).
 
"It's obviously very overwhelming to think of that in those terms," Branch said of his place in UW wrestling lore. "But we've had a great program here and great success through the years and some amazing coaches that I've got a chance to be friends with and get to know. That's pretty special company."
 
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