Tom Burman To Host Virtual Town Hall Thursday

LARAMIE -- "You need to ask Tom Burman ..."

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that phrase from a fan, I'd be lying on the beach right now, sipping one of tropical drinks with the little umbrellas.

Here's your big chance.

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The school's athletics director Thursday is hosting a virtual town hall, fielding questions about the changing landscape of college sports and what it means for the department. You want to know about Name, Image and Likeness, revenue sharing and what UW is doing to navigate these uncertain times? Ask away.

Visit this website and RSVP for the event, which is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Mountain Time.

Burman, who is in his 19th season at the helm, has been up front and transparent about the laundry list of financial issues the department has faced since the introduction of NIL back in 2019. That came just a year after the NCAA Transfer portal was formed.

Additional revenue is the focus right now, as the Step Forward campaign was recently launched in order to help the football program raise an additional $500,000, piggy backing off the $125,000 contribution from head coach Jay Sawvel.

Burman and Co., have said publicly jersey patches -- at the right price, he added -- will eventually be a mainstay on the Cowboys and Cowgirls uniforms. Same can be said for on-field advertising inside War Memorial Stadium. Burman has even said naming rights for the Arena-Auditorium could be another avenue in the future.

Currently, the department is awaiting the ultimate decision of the state legislature, which will determine if $6 million additional dollars over the next two seasons will help supplement the losses that have come courtesy of the House Settlement. Wyoming, along with every other program in the country who "opted in," will pay roughly $550,000 annually over the next 10 seasons.

"If we get support from the state -- and not a budget cut, also -- and continued investment from the private sector, coupled with support from campus, we will be in a good place in short order," Burman said in December. "... We are starting to see people donate. That frees up money for revenue sharing through ticket sales, media rights, corporate dollars, television, etc.

"We are just getting started."

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players