Joe Tripodi joined the Wyoming Football coaching staff as the Cowboys’ offensive line coach in February 2022. He will be entering his fourth season coaching Wyoming’s offensive line in 2025 and his 16th season as a college coach. Tripodi previously coached the offensive line at Temple University for three seasons from 2019-21 and coached nine seasons at Northern Illinois from 2010-18.
In 2024, Wyoming ranked No. 16 in the nation in Red Zone Offense at nearly 91 percent for the season. Guard Jack Walsh earned Second Team All-MW honors as well. Pro Football Focus ranked him the No. 25 guard in the nation and fourth in the MW. Center Nofoafia Tulafono earned Honorable Mention All-MW honors.
In a win over New Mexico, the Cowboys recorded 604 yards of total offense for the most since recording 604 yards on Nov. 20, 2021 at Utah State. Protected for Poke in a contest passing for 342 yards for the most since passing for 366 yards in 2015.
In 2023, the Pokes would win nine games, as it was Wyoming's first nine-win season since 1996 when UW posted a 10-2 season. His unit was named to the Joe Moore Award Mid-season Watch List, as the award goes to the best offensive line in the nation. Frank Crum was named First Team All-MW, as Crum signed with the Denver Broncos in April. Jack Walsh was named Pro Football Focus First Team All-MW and earned Third Team honors from Phil Steele.
In his first season with Wyoming in 2022, the Cowboy offense ranked No. 1 in the MW and No. 14 in the nation in red-zone offense (90.6 percent) and No. 3 in the MW and No. 44 nationally in rushing offense (181.4 yards per game). The offense ranked No. 3 in the league and No. 25 nationally in fewest tackles for loss allowed (4.46 per game) and ranked No. 3 in the conference and No. 30 in the nation in fewest sacks allowed (1.46 per game). Tripodi’s offensive line helped pave the way for a 1,000-yard rusher in 2022 as Titus Swen rushed for 1,039 yards.
All five of Tripodi’s starting offensive linemen earned All-Conference recognition in ‘22. Offensive guard Zach Watts was selected First Team All-Mountain West by Pro Football Focus (PFF). PFF named Cowboy center Nofoafia Tulafono to its Second Team. Offensive tackle Frank Crum was selected to PFF’s Third Team along with offensive guard Emmanuel Pregnon. Offensive guard Eric Abojei was named Third Team All-MW by Phil Steele. Pregnon was also named a Second Team Freshman All-American by College Football News.
Wyoming entered the 2022 college football season as the fourth youngest team in the country but went on to record a 7-6 record, finish second in the Mountain West Conference Mountain Division and earn a spot in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl. Along the way the ‘22 Pokes defeated rivals Air Force, Colorado State, Hawai’i, Utah State and American Athletic Conference member Tulsa. Wyoming’s 7-6 record gave them their fifth winning season in the past seven seasons.
Tripodi is a former starting offensive lineman himself at Northwestern University of the Big Ten. He started the final 24 consecutive games he played for the Wildcats and was part of two Northwestern teams to earn bowl bids -- the 2003 Motor City Bowl and the 2005 Sun Bowl. He was the co-recipient of the inaugural Randy Walker Wildcat Award in 2006, which is awarded to the player with the best work ethic, toughness and warrior attitude.
During Tripodi’s three seasons at Temple from 2019-21, he coached First Team All-America center Matt Hennessy in 2019. Hennessy was also a finalist for the 2019 Rimington Trophy, which is awarded to the nation’s top collegiate center each season. The Owls’ earned a berth in the 2019 Military Bowl. Tripodi coached five All-America Athletic Conference players at Temple, and had two of his offensive lineman go on to the NFL, including Hennessy, who was a third-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons.
Prior to Temple, Tripodi spent nine seasons at Northern Illinois. In his last three seasons at Northern Illinois from 2016-18, Tripodi was the Offensive Run-Game Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach for the Huskies. NIU ranked 17th in the nation in rushing offense and 31st in total offense in 2016, while allowing only 8.0 total sacks to opponents to rank No. 2 in the country in fewest sacks allowed.
Tripodi was the offensive line coach at NIU from 2013-15. He coached the tight ends and fullbacks in 2012, and was an offensive graduate assistant coach in 2010-11.
Over his nine years on the Huskies’ coaching staff, NIU captured four MAC Championships in 2011, ‘12, ‘14 and ‘18, and won seven MAC West Division titles in 2010, ‘11, ‘12, ‘13, ‘14, ‘15 and ‘18. He coached 19 All-MAC offensive linemen at NIU, had one William V. Campbell Finalist (symbolic of the nation’s top football scholar-athlete), and coached six All-America players. Tripodi also had five players earn opportunities with NFL teams, including Max Scharping, who was a second round pick of the Houston Texans. Tripodi’s offensive line helped block for quarterback Jordan Lynch at Northern Illinois. Lynch finished seventh in the Heisman voting in 2012 and placed third in the 2013 Heisman balloting.
Tripodi was a member of eight bowl teams at Northern Illinois in nine seasons, highlighted by an appearance in the Orange Bowl at the conclusion of the 2012 season. The Huskies won the 2010 uDrove Humanitarian Bowl, the 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl, and played in the 2013 Poinsettia Bowl, 2014 Boca Raton Bowl, 2015 Poinsettia Bowl, the 2017 Quick Lane Bowl and the 2018 Boca Raton Bowl.
He and his wife, Rachel, have one daughter, Emma, and one son, Roman. Tripodi completed his bachelor’s degree in communications from Northwestern in 2006 and his master’s degree in adult and higher education from NIU in 2011.
He recruits Iowa and Wisconsin for the Cowboys.
Coaching History
2022-Present Wyoming Offensive Line
2019-21 Temple Offensive Line
2016-18 Northern Illinois Offensive Run-Game Coordinator/Offensive Line
2013-15 Northern Illinois Offensive Line
2012 Northern Illinois Tight Ends/Fullbacks
2010-11 Northern Illinois Offensive Graduate Assistant Coach