Wyoming Prep Sports Could Soon Look Different After Funding Shakeup

The landscape of Wyoming High School sports will look different. When that happens might be sooner than we think. Friday afternoon, Wyoming High School Activities Association (WHSAA) Commissioner Trevor Wilson sent a release to the media across Wyoming, detailing recent discussions among the WHSAA and its member schools. It broke down the recent changes to extra-curricular funding from the Wyoming Legislature.

WYOPREPS REVIEWS THE WHSAA FUNDING SHORTFALL DISCUSSIONS

The state just saw a battle in the legislature this past winter that impacted the University of Wyoming and its funding. Some members wanted deep cuts in Laramie, which prompted plenty of responses from people around the state, particularly from leadership in Laramie. Before the session ended, the legislature reversed course and kept most of the funding that UW wanted, with some stipulations.

The legislature did recalibrate its approach to the state's block grant funding model for public schools. This addressed shortfalls in the state budget.

Under a new 'silo' model, funding allocated for student activities and extra-duty responsibilities has decreased from $46.3 million to $42.4 million. That's a reduction of approximately 8.4% for school districts statewide. Additionally, the restructuring limits district flexibility by restricting access to approximately $76.2 million in previously more adaptable funding, which will result in cuts requiring extreme restructuring of existing activities and athletic offerings for Wyoming students. 

On April 28, 2026, the WHSAA Board of Directors convened for its final meeting of the 2025-26 school year. Wilson said in the release, "A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to discussing the projected funding shortfall for student activities and athletics resulting from recent changes to Wyoming’s school funding model."

After some membership discussion, some school districts shared that they will rely on carryover funding for the next year, but that doesn't apply to all districts, and is seen as a temporary solution.

That prompted the WHSAA Board of Directors to come up with potential strategies to find ways to deal with rising costs, but with fewer funds. In the release from Commissioner Wilson, here are some ideas that have been discussed. These are meant to spur conversations that will more than likely lead to some difficult decisions about the future of high school sports in Wyoming.

Nothing has been finalized, for now.

Here are some possible changes in athletics and activities