Growing up I wanted to be a civil engineer. I wanted to build bridges, skyscrapers, maybe even stadiums.
Mr. Cranston, my tenth-grade geometry teacher, changed my mind after a couple of exams. Told me I ought to think about a different career path.
Tyler Robison IS an engineer. He's a structural engineer, and one of the lead engineers designing the War Memorial Stadium renovation project. Our careers couldn't be more different.
We do have one thing in common, though.
We share a love, respect and admiration for Bill Young.
Bill was the second sports information director in the history of Wyoming athletics, I was the third. He not only was a pioneer in the business—which they now call media relations—but he was my mentor in the world of collegiate sports information. I followed a legend.
He was Tyler's grandfather.
Bill was instrumental in shaping both of our lives.
I began my career as a student-assistant for Bill in the Sports Information Office in 1967. It was home for me, and got me through college.
Tyler had the joy of experiencing him as a grandson. It was Bill who was always there to encourage him. and helped nurture his grandson's love and respect for athletics. Tyler grew up a passionate Cowboy fan thanks to Bill.
There's an irony coming here.
War Memorial Stadium has only had two press box facilities in its 74-year history. With Bill, I worked in both of them. The first was a two-story metal structure on the west side of the stadium located at what is now the concourse level (the top of the west stands at that time). The second is the one you see today on top of the west upper deck. It replaced the metal structure when the stadium was remodeled in 1971.
When the current stadium renovation project is totally completed, there will be a third media facility, a state-of-the art structure where the current building stands.
Ironically, Bill's grandson, Tyler, who is a senior project engineer for structural engineering for Martin/Martin Wyoming, is one of the lead engineers for the stadium remodel, and helped design the new press box which is scheduled for completion sometime in 2025. I can't get over that irony, it's so cool.
"I miss him every day," Tyler says of Bill whom he calls Granddad. "I'm thankful that I got to spend as much time with him as I did growing up, whether at home or going with him to games. He was always a gentlemen in a very difficult world. He was a kind man who was loyal and respectful."
For sure Tyler, and I'm so thankful I got to spend a lot of time with Bill as well. I was one of his three student assistants during my college days along with Scott Binning and Rick Morris. He always taught us to respect everyone's right to do their job, especially that of the under appreciated media. He made sure we all knew that his press box was a 'working' facility. 'Respect the jobs everyone has to do' he told us, and they'll respect you. That meant creating a professional environment in the press box. Quiet and respectful please. There was never any cheering in Bill's media area, no matter how sensational a play was on the field. We always wore ties too.
Bill began his Hall of Fame career at Wyoming in 1960. He was originally from Carbondale, Ill. By the time I came along he had established himself as one of the giants of his profession. In fact, he was president of the national organization, College Sports information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and later was inducted in the group's Hall of Fame. Whether you were in the profession from Texas, Michigan State, Indiana, or UCLA you knew and respected Bill. His impact on the profession was profound.
He also is a member of UW's Intercollegiate Hall of Fame, Class of 2003.
I learned the profession from an icon, the best.
Bill and his wife Sally raised two children, Carrie and Glenn. I watched them grow up. Tyler is Carrie's son
"I really didn't realize his legacy until about the fourth grade," Tyler says. "I would go to my pee-wee games, and then we would head straight up to meet him and go to the Cowboy games. My exposure to Wyoming football began with Granddad. He knew so many people. I didn't grasp the depth of his impact until his induction into the Hall of Fame. He was such a quiet, unassuming guy who never let on what a giant he was. His influence was amazing."
That's a proud grandson talking, and he's right. I saw Bill in the exact same light. He was a giant.
Bill was promoted to an assistant athletics director's position in 1975, when I was fortunate enough to step into the sports information role. He left the athletics department in 1982 when he moved across campus to become director of the UW News Service. He retired from UW in 1995 after 35 years of unparalleled service to the school.
That culture he established in working with media has carried on, and remains strong to this day at Wyoming.
After he retired, the family, including Tyler, continued to support UW athletics. "The family had season tickets in the lower deck on the west side, and I loved going with Granddad," Tyler says. "He'd had those season tickets since 1971, section E, row 32, seats 1-4, right where the original press box stood. In fact, I just tore them out during the remodel. I went up there, cut them out and now have them in my basement. I would have taken the whole row, but I don't have room in my house. I froze my butt off many times in those seats," Tyler laughs, "but what great memories with Granddad.
"We went together to every game until 2018 when he really wasn't able to go anymore."
Bill passed away in January 2020, and Tyler was kind enough to let me know the end was near. I went to see Bill in a Colorado hospital. He was very sick, and was in no shape to talk, but I held his hand and talked to him. I think he could hear me. It meant so much to me and I will be forever grateful to Tyler for giving me that opportunity.
Martin/Martin Wyoming has designed a number of structures on the UW campus, and Tyler has been involved in a number of them, including the High Altitude Performance Center at the north end of War Memorial Stadium.
"Our office is familiar with my UW connection, and that I bleed brown and gold," the 2009 UW Architectural Engineering graduate (2010 MS Civil Engineering grad) says. "So I've been very fortunate to have a hand in these projects. There's heritage there, and I'm proud of that."
Tyler has been a part of Martin/Martin Wyoming for over a decade now.
With the football season approaching, it has been a challenge for everyone involved to get the stadium ready for the home-opener on Sept. 7, against Idaho. Demolition began almost immediately following the '23 season last November. "It has been a challenge," Tyler says, "but things are moving along well. G.E. Johnson (project builder) has done a great job of staying on top of things no matter what challenges arise. The stadium really needed to be remodeled. The lower area was just not up to competition standards any longer."
A total of 250 people have worked on-site during the project, according to Tyler. "But with design, engineering, and consultants well over 500 have 'touched' the project," he says.
Here are some other quick facts about the remodel so far: It took five days to demo the existing lower bowl, and six days to remove the existing foundations that the lower bowl was built upon back in 1950. The lower bowl, club and precast structure together have used over 3,000 yards of concrete, or 12 million pounds. The treads and risers were precast by Wells Precast out of its Brighton, Colo., facility. There were 339 pieces of precast shipped in by truck totaling 196 loads (46,648 round trip miles). Almost 92,000 man-hours have been logged thus far, just on the construction site alone.
According to Tyler, the most formidable challenge during construction has been working with the existing upper bowl. "We had to analyze how the new lower bowl and existing structure would work together now that they were tied at the club floor. There were multiple types of strengthening of the structure that were performed, some visible to fans, and some not so visible."
That's an example of why my engineering dreams stopped in 10th grade.
Tyler gave me a quick tour of the project the other day, and while walking with him, it was easy to see how proud and passionate he is of his role. I'm sure all engineers are that way, but in Tyler Robison that pride runs much deeper because he was raised that way.
Bill's did too, for the brown and gold, and especially for his grandson.
