Among the bets placed on the 116th Border War football game featuring rivals University of Wyoming and Colorado State University are two unlikely wagerers.
Art museums.
The respective art museums at UW and CSU are betting on the game, each putting up a loan of art.
The Gregory Allicar Museum of Art at CSU is putting up a sculpture titled “Mask Maker,” created by sculptor Roxanne Swentzell in 1994.
The University of Wyoming Art Museum is putting up painter Beth Van Hoesen’s “Pale Horse” painting she created in 1991.
Whichever football program wins the game, the winning school’s museum gets to display the loser’s artwork until the end of the school year in May 2025, according to the universities.
The Border War game, an annual rivalry now in its 57th consecutive year, kicks off at 6 p.m. Friday at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins.
The football program that wins gets the traveling Bronze Boot trophy, which inspired the museums to make the art wager, as did other museums that made similar bets for the Super Bowl.
“In homage to the Bronze Boot, both museums have chosen a work from their rival’s collection for the wager,” CSU said in a statement. “This friendly bet is inspired by other wagers between art institutions like Denver Art Museum and Seattle Art Museum’s Super Bowl rivalry in 2014.”
Gregory Allicar Museum of Art Director Lynn Boland said the bet has helped both museums better know each other and forge relationships that will last well beyond the game.
“It’s already been a win for us by getting to know each other and each other’s fabulous collections better,” Boland said in a statement. “There really isn’t a loser here. But still, go Rams!”
Staffs of each museum will visit the other’s institution Monday, when the winner’s prize or artwork will be delivered.
“While this is a great opportunity to share artwork between our two institutions, our audiences will miss seeing a signature piece at the losing museum, so let’s go Pokes!” Nicole Crawford, University of Wyoming Art Museum director and chief curator, said in a statement.
