He was one of seven former University of Wyoming athletes named Saturday to the UW Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.
“The most popular and dynamic player ever to play at UW, Josh Allen brought the national spotlight to Wyoming football,” the university said in a statement.
The last three months have been a whirlwind for Allen, who also got engaged to Hollywood actress Hailee Steinfeld in November.
Hailing from Firebaugh, California, Allen, a junior college transfer, quarterbacked the Wyoming Cowboys to two consecutive eight-win seasons, two bowl games and the Mountain West Championship game in 2016.
At UW, he threw for 5,066 passing yards and ran for 767 rushing yards. The two-time team captain scored 57 touchdowns, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social science and was the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft — the highest a Cowboys player has ever been drafted.
“If I had my way, I’d want fans to remember the ultimate competitor,” Allen told the University of Wyoming back in 2018, just before he was about to play in the Senior Bowl. “The guy who stepped on the field and his only goal was to win football games.”
As a Buffalo Bill, Allen has done just that, racking up 83 wins to 40 losses in the regular season and playoffs. He has turned the Bills into a perennial playoff powerhouse and, on Feb. 6, was named the 2024-25 NFL Most Valuable Player.
Allen isn’t the only Buffalo Bill going into the UW Hall.
He is joined by John Wendling of Rock Springs, who played for the Cowboys between 2003 and 2006. A hard-hitting safety, Wendling was named second team All-America as a senior in 2006. Wendling, who was one of the top football-playing scholars in the country, was drafted by the Bills with the 10th pick in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft.
Other 2025 inductees include Casey Bramlet (football, 2000-2003), Curt Jimerson (men’s basketball, 1961-63), Hugh Lowham (wrestling, 1962-64), Mike Mulvaney (baseball, 1985-88) and Lori Kline Waddell (women’s basketball, 1979, 1981-83).
A total of 196 individuals and 25 teams have been inducted into the UW Hall of Fame since it began in 1993. The Hall of Fame Committee met in January to select the latest class from a list of finalists.
The 32nd annual induction ceremony for Allen, Wendling and the entire 2025 class will be held at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center on the UW campus in Laramie on Sept. 5.
