CHEYENNE - Cheyenne didn't make the short list as a potential site for a Catholic college in the state.

Father Bob Cook, spokesman for the Wyoming Catholic College Founders' Committee, said the group narrowed the list to three different locations of the state.

Cook said Thursday the committee asked him not to make public the three finalists in order to avoid the notion of competition and to protect the good will generated by the committee's exploration work.

He declined to give a reason why Cheyenne didn't make the cut.

Instead of looking at negatives, the committee weighed the positives of each site.

"Ninety percent of the places I looked at, it was a matter of finding places that had more pluses," he said.

Cook, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Casper, and the committee looked at 41 different sites in 23 different communities.

"A lot of progress has been made. We're so pleased with the enormous response from the communities of the state," Cook said.

Although Wyoming no longer has a Catholic high school, a four-year Catholic liberal arts college would be available to all students statewide and nationally as well. A high school enrollment is generally limited to the community where it is located.

Cook said the college must be financed with private donations.

Communities the committee looked at included Dayton, Buffalo, Sheridan, Hulett, Casper, Douglas, Chugwater, Wheatland, Evanston, Green River, Rock Springs, Lander, Riverton, Worland, Cody, Thermopolis and Greybull.

The criteria for location, according to previous publications in the Wyoming Catholic Register, required at least 640 scenic acres available with topography to host large buildings; the capacity to build housing for up to 400 students; reasonably close to a major highway and no more than 45 minutes from a moderate-sized city; and a location or elevation without severe or long winters.

The city of Thermopolis made a special pitch for the new college.

Capitol bureau reporter Joan Barron can be reached at (307) 632-1244 or at joan.barron@casperstartribune.net.