Doug Campbell, left, watches the Wyoming Cowboy football team take on the San Jose State Spartans last Saturday. Campbell was honored at the game by the Cowboy Joe Club - University of Wyoming's booster club.
Doug Campbell was the center of attention Saturday at the University of Wyoming football game between the first and second quarters when he received the prestigious White Hat award from the Cowboy Joe Club.
Campbell, who has been on the Cowboy Joe Club board of directors since 1982, dedicated his award to the memory of his daughter Kirsten, who passed away in September.
Campbell is one of three Carbon County residents to receive the hat since the club began in 1970. Ole Jim York (1998) and Ted Neuman (1995) are two of 22 people to receive the award. Campbell said he was very humbled to be a part of that group.
Rather than bragging about what he has done for the Cowboy Joe Club, Campbell talked about what Wyoming fans can do to help the Cowboy Joe Club.
Campbell said the Cowboy Joe Club has around 4,000 members. In 2010, when he was named Greatest UW Football Fan, Campbell had a goal of 5,000 Cowboy Joe members.
The Cowboy Joe Club raises money for athletic scholarships to attract players in 18 sports to play for the University of Wyoming.
This year, they have raised $3 million so far, and their goal is $3.5 million. For a state that has one of the smallest populations in the nation, raising that much money is a huge endeavor.
The Cowboy Joe Club provides around 350 scholarships for student athletes with about 100 of them from Wyoming schools. Waddie Love, of Encampment, is one of those recipients, Campbell said.
Campbell wants people to know that Love is an example of what can occur with a Wyoming student. Love made the traveling squad for the UW football team.
"We rely a lot on Wyoming athletes [to attend the university]," Campbell said.
"We need more Cowboy Joe Club members if we want to continue in Division-1A," he added.
Campbell put things into perceptive when discussing how winning teams attract students. For instance, in 1984 the University of Wyoming had 12,000 students enrolled. This year, they have 13,000 students. Michigan State, which is also a 1-A Division program has 36,000 students. Wyoming traveled to East Lansing, Mich. to play Sept. 27.
"If we are going to compete with the big programs we need more students," Campbell said.
Campbell also compared Wyoming to Nebraska. Wyoming has a $29 million for a budget for all 18 sports programs. Nebraska has a $60 million budget for their football program alone.
"It all comes down to the pocket book," Campbell said. For Wyoming to be competitive in sports, they need to raise more money for scholarships. "$10 million would make us more competitive," Campbell said.
His wife, Kathleen, talked about the current program that the Cowboy Joe Club is running, called the "110% Above and Beyond Campaign" in which members are encouraged to donate 10 percent more than they have in the past. "If you donated $100 before, we are asking for $110," Kathleen explained.
Campbell said he was impressed with the 20,000 fans who were at the stadium on Saturday, including his wife, children Judd and Jason and D'Ron, and grandchildren Kaitlyn, Jaden, Douglass and Anthony. Edge Powell also attended the ceremony.
Because of the low population in Wyoming, the television revenue market it limited. Schools like UW do not receive much money for the televised games. While the schools in the Pac 12 Conference market are earning $20 million in each school, the entire Mountain West conference is so small, in comparison Wyoming gets a measly $1 million.
But at the Nov. 22 game, when the Cowboys host Boise State, the game will be televised on one of ESPN networks. Campbell said he is excited for the Cowboys to have the opportunity to shirttail off of Boise.
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