Lander, WY – Many Wyoming Catholic College students have long felt a “keen sense of regret that WCC is in the middle of nowhere and has never had an organized professional sports team” according to junior Jonathan Malinoski. Wyoming, for that matter, while it has several college teams sponsored by state colleges, doesn’t even have a professional baseball, let alone football team for that matter.
But all that’s set to change.
It all began with a few people sitting around early last semester in a classroom and longingly watching the NFL playoffs. “Here we are,” said then-junior Augustine Carter, “in a school where we value the real, value actual experiences, value being out there, out really there in the community, and we have to watch football games on a laptop.” Yes, WCC does have an annual football game between students from the western half of the US, and students from the eastern half (Canada and Canadians obviously don’t exist). But that’s one game, and since football is primarily a spectator sport, it doesn’t leave the reality loving WCC students “all that many options.”
The dream that came out of that meeting was starting a college team, competitive enough to play around the country. “But why stop there,” came the voice of the school’s chief financial officer, Peter McNow. “Why not buy a team?”
Conversations, needless to say, became confidential from there, but the results are finally out in the open. With financing provided by Peter McCullogh, administration of the purchase by Jonathan Malinoski as part of his Junior Leadership project, and other practical matters by several students and the Student Life Office working together in a rare show of student-administration unity, Wyoming Catholic College signed an agreement today to purchase the Green Bay Packers football team from the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin for an undisclosed amount of money.
The Green Bay Packers will retain usage of the world-famous Lambeau Field but will move nearly all home games to Lander, Wyoming where they will temporarily play in Dillon Park before construction of a more permanent facility sometime in the near future.
“This is a great moment for WCC, for Lander, and really for all of Wyoming,” says WCC executive vice president Saul H. Ciwoknot on the purchase deal. “Everyone at WCC obviously loves the Packers, and everyone who loves the Packers is going to love us as besides moving games to beautiful, picturesque, Lander, Wyoming, nothing is changing. The Packers will still keep their unforgettable uniform, spirit, ethos, and fans while gaining association with the rigorous traditional Catholic liberal arts program at WCC.”
A lot of details still have to be worked out, first and foremost among them being building and finding money to do so, for a world-class football stadium somewhere in Lander, Wyoming, but the overall purchase “was a great investment according to Peter McNow and will really help boost throughput and sales at Crux Coffee and Dolce Ice Cream, maybe even enough to keep Dolce running through the winter” according to McNow.
Along with the deal, WCC will also be finally purchasing the Inn at Lander, something its long sought to do. But rather than converting it entirely into student housing, as was the initial intention, most of it will remain as the WCC Inn, catering to visiting fans hoping to attend a “new home” game for the Packers.
The purchase will be completed by the end of November and the Green Bay Packers expect to play their first games in Lander, Wyoming under WCC ownership beginning with the Fall 2021 football season.