LARAMIE - The University of Wyoming's use of "Special Forces" in referring to its special teams football units has gained the attention of the real U.S. Special Forces.

The Wyoming football team has developed a special bond with current and retired members of the Green Berets as a result.

Coach Dave Christensen said he was contacted by Jerry Baldwin, the head of the Special Forces Association Cowboy Chapter 71 in Cheyenne, who asked to visit with the team.

This month, two active-duty Green Berets from the 10th Special Forces Group, along with three former Green Berets with the SFA Cowboy Chapter, and a Green Beret captain in the Wyoming ROTC Department, met with Christensen and the team.

They presented a Special Forces flag and a shadow box containing a number of SFA items, including a beret. The shadow box is now on display near the football office in the Rochelle Athletics Center.

"We wanted to do something because Wyoming is the only school ever to honor the Special Forces publicly," Baldwin said. The Green Berets were on the sidelines for the New Mexico game last Saturday and in the locker room at halftime with the Cowboys.

"I had talked to our team about the Special Forces, where the term came from, why it is an important term, and why we refer to our special teams as Special Forces," Christensen said. "Just having them here as a living testimony was a great example for our kids."

Wyoming's recognition of the Special Forces was sent to all the Special Forces Groups serving in 39 countries worldwide. Christensen has since received a letter from Brig. Gen. Michael S. Repass, the commanding general of the U.S. Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C.

"We have men of uncommon valor and character in our ranks, and we expect no less from your players who bear our name," Repass wrote.

As a result, a new Cowboy tradition has begun.

The U.S. Special Forces Flag will now be carried onto the field each week by the Cowboy player who has scored the most points as a special teams player the previous week. The first week, the honor went to freshman Luke Ruff.

"It's honorable just to have them recognize us," Ruff said. "We call our special teams the Special Forces because we want to show how important it is. Those guys do an amazing thing for our country. To me, it's very humbling and very inspiring, and I'm sure it is for the rest of the guys, too."