By Jeff Bugher
Scholarships come from many sources, in many amounts of support, and to memorialize many different people or events. The Ryan Willson Scholarship at the University of Wyoming honors the memory of a remarkable young man from Wyoming.
On the evening of August 2, 1994, five teenagers from Douglas, Wyoming, lost their lives in a tragic railroad crossing accident. They were Ryan Willson (aged 15), Ryan’s best friend, Jeremy Stavnes (15), Jeremy’s older brother Noah (18), and their friends, Tiffany Rabun (14) and Jennifer Coziahr (14). The kids were coming back from having had their sports physicals in Douglas that afternoon and were heading to the local McDonald’s.
Ryan’s father, Edward “Ed” Willson, described the accident: “On August 2 at 8:00 p.m., the sun is on the horizon. And stand at that crossing and look in the direction the train was coming from; you are absolutely blinded by the setting sun. The train engineers and conductors said they saw the car slow down for the crossing, so they looked away momentarily. When they next saw the car, it had pulled out in front of the train.”
Ryan Willson was born in Gillette, Wyoming, on March 8, 1979, and grew up in Douglas. “Douglas didn’t have pee-wee football back in the day,” Ed said. In junior high, Ryan played football, basketball, and baseball. “He’d come home from playing some sport and be disgusted…He would be all pouting, lips stuck out. I would say, ‘What? What’s going on?’ And Ryan would say, ‘I suck because I can’t do this.’” Ed would tell Ryan,” You get back everything you put into it, so if you don’t put anything into it, you get back 100% of nothing.” Ed recounts that when Ryan was 15, he told his father that he was not going to get a job that summer; he just wanted to work out and work on football. “I openly laughed in his face…and said sure…but Ryan really did it,” Ed said that Ryan and Jeremy would practice three to four hours each day, running and lifting. “By the end of the summer, Ryan was all solid muscle,” Ed remembers.
Through tragedy and loss, the Willsons looked for ways to honor the memory of their son, Ryan
After Ryan’s death, his family thought something beneficial to others should come from Ryan’s life, and for the next three years, they sponsored three $1,000 scholarships at Douglas High School for students going on to college and trade schools. “It was something to further their education. It was based on their grades,” Ed explained.
Later, the Willsons looked for more ways to give back to others in memory of Ryan, and they thought of the Wyoming Cowboys. When Ed was ten, he began listening to the Cowboy games on the radio. When Ed graduated high school in 1971, he was offered a scholarship to play football at the University of Wyoming. Ed spoke about the immense pride he felt as a Wyoming native wearing the Steamboat logo on his helmet. “That was just a humbling experience,” Ed said.
The Willson family still had close ties to UW, and they decided that the best way to honor Ryan was through a football scholarship. In 1995, the Willsons began working with the Cowboy Joe Club, University of Wyoming Athletic Director Tom Burman, and Senior Associate Athletic Director Randy Welniak to develop a scholarship. Soon, the Ryan E. Willson “Want To” Scholarship was born. The scholarship is awarded to a UW student-athlete from Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, or Colorado who has demonstrated an excellent work ethic and represents “Cowboy Toughness.” “I explicitly left out Utah,” Ed said with a chuckle. The scholarship is an annuity that will be paid out every year perpetually.
Past Recipients:
The scholarship recipients are a “Who’s Who” of UW athletes. Recipients include Gunner Gentry, Zach Watts, Josh Harshman, Jovon Bouknight, John Wendling, Brian Hendricks, Eddie Yarbrough, and Luke Ruff.
Brian Hendricks
Past recipient and current assistant coach at Wyoming, Brian Hendricks, weighed in on what it meant for him to receive the scholarship in Ryan’s name. “It was an honor to receive the Ryan Willson scholarship. I remember that it was given to me at a basketball game with Ed. They presented it to me at halftime. It just meant a lot. It was unbelievable to be the recipient of that honor.” Hendricks said that since his return to Wyoming as a coach, he has reconnected with Ed Willson.
Gunner Gentry
Gunner Gentry said, “It's really cool just to have people like the Willson family who are supporting us and who want to see us succeed in football and in life. It's always nice to have people in your corner who want to see you succeed.”
Zach Watts
Past recipient Zach Watts also expressed his appreciation for the Willson family’s generous gift. “It was a true pleasure to receive the Ryan Willson scholarship. Not only to represent the University of Wyoming Football program but also to be representative of the Willson Family. I am very thankful for everything that they do for the University! The opportunity to represent Coach Bohl and his program academically, athletically, and through community involvement means everything to me. I am very thankful for the Willson family and their acknowledgment and continual commitment to the program!”
Ed Willson pointed out that the amount of money donated was not significant by some measures, and anyone can start a scholarship with the Cowboy Joe Club to benefit student-athletes.
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