(UW Athletics release)
Laramie, Wyo. — University of Wyoming senior strong safety Andrew Wingard has accepted an invitation to play in this coming January’s East-West Shrine Game. The game will be played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019. The game will be televised on NFL Network and is scheduled to kick off at 1:00 p.m., Mountain Time. The game will also be broadcast on radio on Sirius XM NFL Channel 88.
Wingard concluded the 2018 regular season tying the Mountain West Conference record for career tackles with 454. He is second all-time in Wyoming history in career tackles, and is tied for 20th in NCAA history.
Among all active Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) players, Wingard ranked No. 1 in career tackles (454) to conclude the 2018 regular season, and he ranked 10th among all active players in career interceptions, with 10. Wingard has started the last 50 consecutive games for the Cowboys.
A native of Arvada, Colo., Wingard earned First Team All-Mountain West honors for the third consecutive season in 2018, becoming the first Wyoming Cowboy to achieve First Team All-Mountain West three times. He was also named to the 2018 Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List, the 2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List and the 2018 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Watch List. He was a 2018 Preseason Second Team Associated Press All-America choice.
Wingard helped lead the Cowboys to a 6-6 record in 2018, earning bowl eligibility for the Wyoming Football program for the third consecutive season. Wyoming will find out on Sunday, Dec. 2 if it receives a third consecutive bowl bid, which would be a first in school history. Wingard also was a leader of a team that posted an 8-5 record in 2017 and captured a victory in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. In 2016, he guided the Cowboys to an 8-6 record, a spot in the 2016 Mountain West Conference Championship Game and a berth in the 2016 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. He also led the Cowboys to wins over two Top 25 teams in the 2016 season.
That last Wyoming Cowboy to play in the East-West Shrine game was center Chase Roullier, who played in the game in 2017.
More information on this year’s East-West Shrine Game may be found at http://www.shrinegame.com.
