FORT COLLINS, Colo. — It's a tradition unlike any other, when rivals Colorado State and Wyoming come together to exchange the game ball for their upcoming Border War matchup, but every tradition has to start somewhere.
"As a group of cadets, we somehow sprung this idea that it would be interesting if we, because the Bronze Boot has such a military background, that we did something ceremonial to kind of commemorate it."
Retired Army Captain Jason Mumm and his 1991 ROTC class were the first to run the ball from the former Hughes Stadium to Wyoming's War Memorial, but that had much less pomp and circumstance than his revival 31 years later.
"There was nobody there to receive it, it was just a thing that we did, so this is really phenomenal, just the whole pageantry around this is so good to see and I'm so gratified that the thing that we did all the way back then has become a really fun tradition for the cadets and the university."
Captain Mumm was also grateful to share this experience with the CSU ROTC on Veteran's Day, a happy coincidence he said, that he hopes can happen again in the future.
The 2022 edition of the Border War will kick off at 5 p.m. from Canvas Stadium. Colorado State enters the game 2-7 on the season, while Wyoming sits in second place of the Mountain West Conference at 6-3. The Cowboys have won five of the last six meetings, including last year in Laramie. The Rams last won at home in 2020.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Sports