CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Backers of the University of Wyoming could have one more way to support the Cowboys if a bill creating UW specialty license plates is passed in the upcoming legislative budget session.

Jim Geesey, president of the UW Alumni Association board, said his organization was pushing to get the plates because so many members have requested them.

"As it is in Wyoming, we travel a lot," Geesey said. "We'd like to promote the university wherever we happen to travel to."

The Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Interim Committee has sponsored a bill for the upcoming session that would allow the Wyoming Department of Transportation to start making the plates.

If the bill passes, a plate - with a solid brown background and gold letters - would cost $100 more than a regular plate, with proceeds going to the alumni association. It would be the first special-interest license plate with a completely different background design in Wyoming, said Jim O'Connor of the Wyoming Department of Transportation.

The association backed a similar bill last year, but that bill could have opened the door for any group to sponsor a specialty plate by simply applying to the Department of Transportation. Some feared Wyoming might have ended up like Maryland or Virginia, with hundreds of specialty plates to choose from. At the end of January, Maryland had over 700 plates available. Virginia offers 180.

The new bill authorizes only the UW plate; any other group wanting specialty plates would have to get similar approval from the legislature.

"Some states have too many," said Rep. Jim Slater, R-Laramie. "This is our first major one; this is our trial run. The legislature will have to decide if we do any more."

Law enforcement also opposed last year's bill, which didn't specify that plates would be required on both the front and back of the vehicle, said Byron Oedekoven, executive director of the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police. The new bill requires both.

County treasurers also opposed the bill last year because they were worried about where the new plates would be stored, Laramie County treasurer Kim Lovett said. This year's bill makes the state Department of Transportation responsible for storing the plates, then mailing them to county treasurers when a county resident orders one.

Although Wyoming doesn't currently offer specialty license plates, National Guard members, firefighters, veterans and other groups can buy stickers to place on their regular plates. Proceeds from those stickers benefit the groups represented.

The alumni association wants a different design instead of just a sticker because it would be more noticeable and would help better promote the university, said Robbie Darnall, executive director of the alumni association.

Many university alumni associations across the country sell these specialty plates - including universities in the six states that border Wyoming.

"As far as we can tell, we're one of the few university alumni associations across the country that don't sell them," Darnall said.

On the Net:

UW Alumni Association: http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/alum/