Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl announces retirement, will coach bowl game

Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl, who rose to prominence during a run of dominance at North Dakota State, announced he will retire from coaching at the conclusion of the 2023 season. He will coach the Cowboys in the Arizona Bowl against Toledo.

Bohl had almost unparalleled success at Wyoming, too, setting program records for bowl appearances (six) and wins (three). He’s also posted six winning seasons in 10 years in Laramie, Wyoming.

“Being the head football coach of the Wyoming Cowboys has been a privilege,” said Bohl.  “I felt like now was the time for me step away and entrust the program to new leadership.  I want to thank all the young men who have worn the Brown and Gold over the past 10 years for their dedication and for their passion in representing this football program, this university and this state.  Many thanks to all the assistant coaches and staff who have helped build Wyoming football into a consistently winning program over this past decade,” Bohl said in a release announcing his retirement.

Bohl enters the bowl game with a 60-60 mark as the head coach at Wyoming, with the last game a chance to leave with a mark above .500.

“Coach Bohl has been an outstanding ambassador for UW Athletics and has been a great mentor to our student-athletes,” athletic director Tom Burman said in the release.  “When I hired Craig as head coach, we both said our goal was to return Cowboy Football to a place of relevance in the Mountain West Conference and to be a consistently winning program.  With Coach’s leadership, our football program has accomplished that. Craig has reflected the character of the state of Wyoming, and the football program he’s built is representative of the blue-collar nature of the people of Wyoming.  I am very thankful for all that Coach Bohl has accomplished and represented during his time as our head coach.  I wish him, his wife Leia and his family all the best in the next chapter of their lives.”  

Prior to leading the Cowboys, Bohl won a trio of FCS national championships leading NDSU.

Bohl played college football at Nebraska from 1977-79, serving as a reserve defensive back under head coach Tom Osborne. He’d come back and serve as an assistant coach on a pair of Cornhuskers national champion teams, in 1995 and 1997.

“Personally, I also want to thank Gene Taylor (former North Dakota State Athletics Director) for giving me my first opportunity to be a head coach 21 years ago.  Also, thanks to all the coaches who I’ve worked with throughout the years.  And finally, to the man whose mentorship has meant so much to me in my career — first as a player and then as an assistant coach and as a head coach — my former head coach at Nebraska Tom Osborne,” Bohl said. “There’s one more ballgame before I ride off as an old Cowboy. Let’s Ride for the Brand one more time and get a win in Tucson. Go Pokes!”