Battle of the Basins: Wyoming, NDSU Football Start New Tradition

LARAMIE -- "It just fits."

Tim Polasek uttered those three words last July in Las Vegas when asked if Wyoming and North Dakota State could become the new hot rivalry in the Mountain West Conference.

"I think there is a chance for a natural type of rivalry," NDSU's third-year head coach added from behind the podium inside The Palms. "It fits, regionally."

Jay Sawvel agreed, adding he's "all for" what was then being referred to as the "Bohl Bowl" an homage to former head coach Craig Bohl, who led these programs for a combined 21 seasons.

That name didn't stick.

This one will: "The Battle of the Basins."

It will also come with a traveling trophy, a drill bit, meant to honor the rich history of the oil industry in each state.

“We are excited to add the traveling trophy with a natural rival in NDSU, as our universities and state have so much in common with each other,” UW Director of Athletics Tom Burman said in a statement. “The Battle of the Basins will be an excellent way to celebrate a conference football game along with great traditions of the petroleum industry in both Wyoming and North Dakota.”

The trophy will feature a wood base and both the iconic Steamboat logo and the NDSU Bison logo, the school release states. The idea for the hardware was inspired by the North Dakota Petroleum Association.

Sawvel and Polasek, from 2021-23, served on the same staff under Bohl in Laramie. The latter ran the offense. Sawvel was the defensive coordinator at Wyoming from 2020-23 before being handed the reins of the program that December.

Eleven days later, Polasek was officially named the new boss in Fargo.

Since, he has led the Bison to a 20-3 record, including an FCS Championship, the school's record-setting 10th, during his first year on the sideline. Sawvel's introduction to the hot seat hasn't been quite as smooth, to say the least.

The 55-year-old has a 9-19 record and has yet to reach the postseason after the program made six bowl appearances in Bohl's decade-long tenure.

Bohl, of course, was the head coach of the Bison for 11 seasons, claiming three of those aforementioned titles. He accepted the UW job in 2014 and made one appearance in the conference championship game with Josh Allen under center.

Wyoming has been in the market for a new annual dance partner since traditional rival Colorado State bolted for the reimagined Pac-12. Though the Border War foes have agreed to a future 10-year contract -- and met in the 2026 season opener -- it's not the same, according to many in the fanbase.

Can NDSU fill that void?

"I don't see why not," senior linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz said in Las Vegas. "Yeah."

NDSU junior offense guard Griffin Empey is all for it, too.

"I think it'd be a really cool rivalry," he added. "A lot of people that live in Wyoming and North Dakota are blue collar. More like tough. We live in these cold winters and we get all this snow. It's all this stuff. I think that our fan bases would appreciate the rivalry with each other, and I think the teams would, too.

"I think we both strive to play a very similar brand of football: physicality, running the ball and a defense flies around. I think it'd be a really cool thing to get going."

The Cowboys and Bison have met on the football field just one time. That came inside War Memorial Stadium back in September of 2008. Joe Glenn's team, which finished the season 4-8, outlasted Bohl's bunch in a low-scoring affair, 16-13.

These two will hook up again Saturday inside a sold-out Fargodome. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. Mountain Time and the game will be televised on The CW.

"Geographically, I guess it's us and Northern Illinois that would be about the closest ones to them," Sawvel said in July. "In terms of fan base and the way that the fan bases are, we're probably much more in line with NDSU than what Northern would be."

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