LARAMIE, Wyo. (May 19, 2026) – As the academic calendar wraps up for 2025-26 school year, Pokes Insider Ryan Thorburn caught up with incoming University of Wyoming President Brigadier General Shane Reeves.

A Sweetwater County native with a distinguished military, academic and leadership career in the U.S. Army, Reeves was named the 29th president of the University of Wyoming on April 2, 2026.

Pokes Insider: Growing up in Rock Springs, what are some of your early or favorite Wyoming Athletics memories?
 
Incoming University of Wyoming President Brigadier General Shane Reeves: Wyoming football games were a big part of my youth. We'd come up from Rock Springs for at least one game a year, and when my sister attended UW, we came even more often. I'd usually go with my good friend David Liddy and our families.
 
My dad managed KSIT-FM, 104.5, so Cowboys games were always on the radio. Beyond attending games, what I really remember is faithfully listening to every football and basketball game. Sometimes we'd be out cutting firewood in the fall with the game on. Sometimes we'd just be at home listening together.
 
I have especially fond memories of Wyoming basketball's run in 1987 and 1988 during the Fennis Dembo and Eric Leckner era. You could tell something special was happening.
One of the most formative memories for me was the 1988 Holiday Bowl. Wyoming had gone 11-2 and won the WAC, and there was tremendous excitement around that team. My parents hosted a huge party for the game.
 
Of course, that was also the game where Barry Sanders went off for 222 rushing yards and five touchdowns in just three quarters. I still remember how deflating that loss felt because that Wyoming team was so good and the Holiday Bowl was such a major stage at the time.
But the excitement leading up to it was unforgettable. It came right on the heels of Wyoming basketball reaching the Sweet 16 after beating Virginia and UCLA, with Fennis Dembo on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
 
Wyoming athletics were a huge part of my childhood and very formative for me.
 
Pokes Insider: How involved in Army athletics were you in your role as Dean of the Academic Board at the United States Military Academy at West Point?
 
Incoming University of Wyoming President Brigadier General Shane Reeves: Extremely involved. I regularly attend sporting events across the board. Football is obviously a huge part of West Point culture, but I also attend many men's and women's basketball games, spend time on the rugby pitch and follow Army baseball closely.
 
I think people would be surprised how engaged the chief academic officer is with athletics, but sports are deeply connected to the West Point experience. There's a developmental component for athletes, but athletics also build pride, connection and engagement across the broader community.
 
I work closely with coaches and athletes and have even spoken in locker rooms. At the military academies, you'll often see officers in uniform on the sidelines serving as officer representatives. I was the officer representative for Army baseball, helping develop athletes into future officers.
 
West Point has about 4,400 cadets, and roughly 1,100 are Division I athletes, so sports are essential to how we develop character and leadership.
 
I also serve on the Army West Point Athletic Association Board, where we oversee major aspects of running a Division I program, including budgeting, compliance and hiring. Athletics are deeply integrated into the mission of West Point, and being connected to that is an important part of my job.
 
Pokes Insider: The Army-Navy football game is obviously one of the most iconic sporting events and traditions in American sports. It's also great exposure for military academies. Do you view UW Athletics as the "front porch" of the University and how would you define the role of athletics within a university's overall mission?
 
Incoming University of Wyoming President Brigadier General Shane Reeves: I was at the 2013 Army-Navy game during that brutal losing streak to Navy. Late in the fourth quarter, Army was driving inside the 10-yard line with a chance to win, and everyone in the stadium could feel it. Then we fumbled the exchange and Navy recovered.
 
I remember an older West Point graduate next to me saying, "I just want to win one of these before I die." That's how emotional and meaningful these games are.
 
On the other side, the joy when Army finally broke the streak was incredible. Sports matter deeply to institutions because they create connection, pride and identity.
 
Athletics absolutely are the front porch of a university. They matter externally through branding, recruiting and fundraising, but they also matter internally by connecting communities and creating pride.
 
The mood of Wyoming often rises and falls with Cowboy athletics. That's the reality.
In modern higher education, successful athletic programs also drive visibility and enrollment. How does a kid in South Carolina hear about the University of Wyoming? Probably by watching Wyoming football late at night on television.
 
Athletics are critical not just to the University's health, but to its national profile and its connection to the people of Wyoming.
 
Pokes Insider: As Dean of the Academic Board at the United States Military Academy at West Point you play a key role in developing leaders. Do you feel collegiate athletics help develop leaders as well?
 
Incoming University of Wyoming President Brigadier General Shane Reeves:  Not all development takes place in the classroom. The broader student experience is equally important, and athletics are a major part of that experience.
 
For student-athletes, competition develops commitment, leadership, resilience and the ability to perform under pressure. If you can execute with 30,000 people watching and a 300-pound defensive lineman closing in, that says something about your composure and grit.
 
Those are qualities we want in future leaders.
 
More broadly, athletics create pride and connection across campus and reinforce the idea that competing and striving for excellence matter.
 
We want University of Wyoming graduates to succeed in a rapidly changing world, and I think successful Division I athletics reflect a university culture that values resilience, competitiveness and teamwork.
 
When you combine a rigorous academic environment with high-level athletics, you create a more complete developmental experience for the entire student body.
 
 
Pokes Insider: How do you feel about name, image and likeness and revenue sharing with student-athletes? 
 
Incoming University of Wyoming President Brigadier General Shane Reeves: You have to live in the world you're in, not the world you wish you were in. So I'm all in.
 
There's understandable concern about NIL and revenue sharing, but Division I athletics are too important to the University and the state for us not to adapt and compete.
 
We can embrace this new environment while still staying true to our values and doing things the right way.
 
I've heard people suggest Wyoming can't compete or should consider a different direction, but I reject that mindset. The status quo or moving backward risks putting Wyoming in the "have-not" category in higher education, and that's not acceptable for the state's only four-year institution.
 
Athletics are too important to our students, our economy and the pride of Wyoming.
We're going to compete in this environment, and we're going to find a way to succeed.
 
Pokes Insider: One of Army's Commander-in-Chief's Trophy rivals, Air Force, is one of UW's conference rivals. How excited will you be for the Falcons' Oct. 24 visit and to experience the atmosphere at the renovated War Memorial Stadium this fall?
  
Incoming University of Wyoming President Brigadier General Shane Reeves: War Memorial is awesome. Walking around that place with the recent renovations, it's fantastic. What a great environment, what a great atmosphere and what a great stadium.

I've got to be honest, one of the reasons I took this job was the opportunity to keep beating Air Force every year. All joking aside, it's also a meaningful opportunity to honor the service and sacrifice represented by those athletes from the Air Force Academy. That's what makes the rivalry special.
 
I know the rivalry between Wyoming and Air Force is rooted in geography and history, but I also bring my own personal connection from West Point.
 
October 24 will be a fun intersection of two things I care deeply about. I'm already envisioning a brown-and-gold and black-and-gold tailgate with some Army fans joining Wyoming fans against Air Force.
 
Pokes Insider: You earned a juris doctor from the College of William and Mary in 2003. Jay Sawvel recently hired William & Mary alumnus Christian Taylor as offensive coordinator and signed former William & Mary quarterback Tyler Hughes out of the transfer portal. Does that tie to Cowboy football get you excited for this season.
 
Incoming University of Wyoming President Brigadier General Shane Reeves: I thought that connection was really interesting. The world works in funny ways.
 
I think bringing talent from the William & Mary program to Wyoming is a smart move. Tyler Hughes is an exciting dual-threat quarterback. He threw for more than 2,000 yards and rushed for more than 600 last season, so he brings athleticism and experience.
 
When I watched Wyoming last year, it felt like just a little more offensive production could have changed the season dramatically because the defense was already very strong.
 
With Christian Taylor as offensive coordinator, Hughes at quarterback and what I expect to be another strong defense, I think Wyoming football has the potential to make real noise in the Mountain West this season.
 
Pokes Insider: Living in the State of New York has it been fun watching 2024 NFL MVP Josh Allen to shine a national spotlight on UW and the State of Wyoming?
 
Incoming University of Wyoming President Brigadier General Shane Reeves: Josh Allen has been a great representative of the Cowboys, he's done a great job as a representative of the Bills, and he's a really good evangelist for those institutions and organizations that he cares deeply about. One of them is obviously UW. It's been immense fun to watch him to take the amount of energy and excitement that he's produced as the quarterback. And of course, Wyoming gets mentioned about 50 times every time he plays in the New York market. It's fun to see that.
 
I have a personal story that I can share. My brother, who also grew up in Rock Springs, and his wife go to upstate New York each summer to a place called Fairhaven. My 12-year-old nephew Remington has got on a Hawaiian shirt, and he wears his Pistol Pete Cowboys hat on backwards. He rides a mile into town, and he gets some Cinnabons or some cinnamon rolls and he always brings them back. So, one day he comes back, and he tells my brother and my sister-in-law, hey, I just saw Josh Allen. I was at a stop sign, I saw Josh Allen.
 
They're like, what are you talking about? He's like, yeah, yeah. He pulled up in his silver Ford Raptor, and just kind of leaned out, and looked at me, rolled the window down, and said, hey, bud, I like your hat. And Remington just said, thanks, Josh. And Josh Allen goes, all right, and drives on. And then it was all over the TV that he was in this town. My brother did not believe my nephew (at first). I'm like, I think that actually happened.
 
Josh Allen is down to earth and represents a lot of what I love about Wyoming. He's genuine, authentic and approachable, and he clearly cares deeply about UW.
 
All of us as Wyoming fans are grateful we got to watch him play here, and we'll be cheering for him as he chases that first Super Bowl.
 
Pokes Insider: How excited are you to get to attend UW Athletic events and cheer on the Cowboys and Cowgirls?
 
Incoming University of Wyoming President Brigadier General Shane Reeves: I'm a sports person. I've always loved playing sports, coaching youth sports, attending games and cheering on teams. My family is very much a sports family.
 
I plan on supporting our athletes whenever I can because there's something healthy and unifying about competition. Athletics bring communities together in a way few things can.
I can't wait to see the swimming and diving teams compete in the new Aquatic Center. That facility is a game changer. Wyoming wrestling had a tremendous year, and both golf programs had great seasons as well.
 
I enjoy all of it, and I'm looking forward to being part of the atmosphere and supporting the Cowboys and Cowgirls however I can.

Pokes Insider:  Being that you are active on social media and host your own podcast, how did that get started for you? Are you going to carry that over to the University of Wyoming?

Incoming University of Wyoming President Brigadier General Shane Reeves: It got started because in terms of social media, it was the best way to connect to a broad audience. And so young people, a lot of times it's Instagram. Professionals, it might be LinkedIn. Parents, a lot of times it's Facebook. And so in an effort to engage and connect, social media has been a really powerful tool to do that. It is great to show an accessibility of leadership. Everywhere I turned there was excellence and it is a way to share their story and make people proud and excited.

I started the podcast for the same reason. I think people don't realize how great of a faculty we have at West Point and how they are teaching and developing. The podcast grew broader as people wanted to participate and we highlighted a lot of external speakers. I 100% plan on doing the same thing at the University of Wyoming. I'm already very humbled by the great things that are happening at UW. The excellence of the faculty, the athletic department and generosity of UW alums along with the great research that is being done.