LARAMIE, Wyo. — According to a new statement from the University of Wyoming Athletics Department, the UW Cowgirls volleyball team will forfeit its second scheduled match against San José State University. This is likely due to the team’s retention of a transgender player on its roster.
This is the second time the Cowgirls forfeited their match against the conference opponent. The University of Wyoming is also not the first school to do so: When conference play originally opened in late September, Boise State forfeited its game against the then-undefeated Spartans before the Cowgirls made their decision. More teams after Wyoming would follow suit.
When it was time for the Cowgirls to face the Spartans, it was in part pressure from state lawmakers that ultimately informed the school’s decision to not play. Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon himself made a statement in favor of the university forfeiting.
“I am in full support of the decision by @wyoathletics to forego playing its volleyball match against San José State,” Gordon said in an X post Oct. 1. “It is important that we stand for integrity and fairness in female athletics.”
Per Mountain West Conference policy, a forfeit counts as a loss to the Cowgirls and a victory for the Spartans, who will soon notch another W in their current 13–4 record.
This specific issue has transcended Mountain West Conference standings and news, however. When a lawsuit funded by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports was first filed against the NCAA alleging that there was a transgender player within the Spartans’ ranks, a fellow Spartans player joined the suit as a plaintiff and revealed who this player was. They have since been outed to national attention.
The Spartans’ next opponent will be the San Diego State University Aztecs, who have made no indication that they intend to forfeit their Nov. 9 match. Following that, the Spartans were scheduled to face the Cowgirls, but since that is no longer happening, they will next play the CSU Rams. The Rams have not released a statement as to whether or not they will play the Spartans.
