Wyoming is a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW) and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 17 NCAA-sanctioned sports.

UW Athletics also features "Cowboy Joe", a pony primarily present at football games.

Football began in 1893 at UW, and games were played against local high schools and Front Range colleges.

Wyoming and Colorado State meet annually in the Border War; the winner receives the Bronze Boot trophy.

[6] In 1943, the team defeated Georgetown University 46–34 to win the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.

Two days following its NCAA Championship, Wyoming was asked to play the 1943 National Invitation Tournament Champion (NIT), St. John's, in a game to benefit the Red Cross and raise money for the country's war effort.

When Sailors went to the NBA, his coaches told him he could never be successful in the game if he didn't learn to shoot with his feet on the ground.

Sailors created the jump shot in his youth on his family farm in Hillsdale, Wyoming, during pickup games with an older brother, who was considerably taller than Kenny.

Dembo also helped lead Wyoming to the Sweet 16 of the 1987 NCAA Tournament, defeating Virginia (64–60) and UCLA (78–68) in the first and second rounds before losing to UNLV (92-78) in the West Regional semifinals.

Usher was a member of the University of Wyoming Men's Swimming and Diving team from 2000 to 2004 where he was a five-time NCAA All-American and six-time Mountain West Conference individual champion and record holder.

[9] The MW no longer sponsors men's swimming and diving; the Cowboys team in that sport now competes in the Western Athletic Conference.

The Wyoming Cowboy wrestling team competes in the Big 12 Conference, as the Mountain West does not sponsor the sport.

From 2006 through 2015, the Cowboys competed in the Western Wrestling Conference, but that league disbanded at the end of the 2014–15 school year when all of its members accepted wrestling-only membership in the Big 12.

During football games, a cannon behind the south end zone is fired by UW Army ROTC Cadets every time a point is scored.

When the football team runs from the RAC locker room to Jonah Field, each member touches the Steamboat bronze statue for good luck.

During basketball games, a short riff is played by the drum set and bass players after every point scored.

At the beginning of the game and at halftime, the team runs from the locker room in the RAC to the field and the statue is touched as a token of good luck.

Built in 1982 at a cost of $15 million, the Arena-Auditorium commonly called the AA (or "Dome of Doom") seats over 15,000.

It is situated north of the Field House, south of the Arena-Auditorium, and northwest of War Memorial Stadium.

The Rochelle Athletics Center, commonly called the RAC (pronounced "Rack"), opened its doors on August 31, 2001.

[23] The building was named for Curtis and Marian Rochelle, who donated $4.2 million to the University of Wyoming for the construction of the facility.

The IPF was completed at the end of 2007 at a cost of $11 million, paid for in part by private donations and matching funds from the Wyoming State Legislature.

Gifts totaling $2 million by George and Dianna Archuleta of La Barge and Ron and Linda Flack of Cheyenne launched UW's Intercollegiate Athletics capital campaign for facilities in March 2004.