1986 Wyoming Cowboys football team

The 1986 Wyoming Cowboys football team represented the University of Wyoming in the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. A charter member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), Wyoming played its home games in War Memorial Stadium, an outdoor facility on campus in Laramie, Wyoming.

Led by first-year head coach Dennis Erickson in his only season at Wyoming, the Cowboys compiled a 6–6 record (4–4 against conference opponents), and finished sixth in the WAC. The team outscored their opponents 299 to 272. Erickson installed his "Air Express" form of the spread offense and led the Cowboys to 3–1 start in September, with road wins at Air Force and Wisconsin.

Hired in early December 1985, Erickson was previously the head coach for four seasons at the University of Idaho. His four-year contract at Wyoming included a base annual salary of $60,000 plus $20,000 from radio and television, and the rent-free use of a home in Laramie.^[1][2][3] The Cowboys had previously run the wishbone and were 3–8 in 1985, tied for seventh in the nine-team WAC.

After the season in early January 1987, Erickson left Wyoming without notice to return to the Palouse as head coach at Washington State University in Pullman.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}