The Time Wyoming Basketball Created the 7th Largest City in the State
Here's a fun fact that was brought to our attention by the Univerisity of Wyoming Foundation. On Twitter, they reminded us that on March 2, 2002, the largest crowd ever filled the Arena-Auditorium on the UW campus in Laramie to watch the Cowboys beat Utah for the Mountain West Conference title.
The crowd numbered 16,089 folks. That's a record that stands to this day. That means that on that day in 2002, the Arena-Auditorium was the seventh-largest city in Wyoming, for a few hours at least.
- Cheyenne 59,466
- Casper 55,316
- Laramie 30,816
- Gillette 29,087
- Rock Springs 23,036
- Sheridan 17,444
- Arena-Auditorium March 2, 2002 - 16,089
- Green River 12,515
- Evanston 12,359
- Riverton 10,615
War Memorial Statum, where the Cowboys play football, would be the fourth largest city in Wyoming when at full capacity of 29,181
Following the victory over Utah, the Cowboys advanced to the NCAA tournament where they played Gonzaga in the first round, winning 73-66. The Pokes then lost 68-60 to Arizona.