The BYU Cougars football team is the college football program representing Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. The Cougars began collegiate football competition in 1922, and have won 23 conference championships and one national championship in 1984.
The team has competed in several different athletic conferences during its history, from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2022, they competed as an FBS Independent. On September 10, 2021, the Big 12 Conference unanimously accepted BYU's application to the conference.[3] BYU officially joined the Big 12 on July 1, 2023.
The team plays home games at the 62,073 seat LaVell Edwards Stadium, named after head coach LaVell Edwards who won 19 conference championships, seven bowl games, and one national championship (1984) while coaching at BYU.
The school's first football team won the regional championship in 1896.
BYU traces its football roots back to the late 19th century. Benjamin Cluff became the third principal of Brigham Young Academy (the precursor to BYU) in 1892 (the school was converted into a university in 1903) and was influenced by his collegiate studies at the University of Michigan to bring athletic competition to Brigham Young. The first BYU football team in 1896 played the University of Utah (winning 12–4), the Elks, the Crescents, the YMCA of Salt Lake City, the Wheel Club of Denver, and Westminster College; and it ultimately won the championship.[4] In its second year of competition, the BYA football team won the championship too, but as a result of an accidental football-related death in Utah in 1900, football was banned from all LDS Church schools until 1919.[5]
After a 20-year ban on football, the sport was brought back to BYU on an intramural basis in 1919, and intercollegiate games were resumed in 1920 under coach Alvin Twitchell.[6] BYU was admitted to the Rocky Mountain Conference in 1921 and had its first winning year in 1929 under the helm of coach G. Ott Romney, who BYU recruited from Montana State University the year before.[7] Romney and his successor Eddie Kimball ushered in a new era in Cougar football in which the team went 65–51–12 between 1928 and 1942. In 1932, the Cougars posted an 8–1 record and outscored their opponents 188–50, which remains one of the school's finest seasons on record. The university did not field a team from 1943–1945 due to World War II, and in 1949 suffered its only winless season, going 0–11.
The team began to rebuild in the mid-1950s, recruiting University of Rhode Island head coach Hal Kopp to lead the Cougars, who achieved back-to-back winning seasons in 1957 and 1958, led by southpaw quarterback Jared Stephens and nose tackle Gavin Anae. In 1961, Eldon "The Phantom" Fortie became the school's first All-American, and in 1962, BYU moved to the Western Athletic Conference. In 1964, Cougar Stadium was built, which included a capacity of 30,000, and in 1965, head coach Tommy Hudspeth led the Cougars to their first conference championship with a record of 6–4.
In 1972, assistant coach LaVell Edwards was promoted to head coach, succeeding Hudspeth. Edwards and his staff installed a drop-back passing game considered to be an early implementation of the West Coast offense, resulting in Cougar Pete Van Valkenburg as the nation's leading rusher for that year. The following year, the Cougars struggled to a 5–6 finish, but this would be Edwards' only losing season during his run as BYU coach over the next three decades. In fact, the Cougars won the conference championship every year except one from 1974 to 1985, including the national championship in 1984. However, the Cougars lost their first four bowl games. Their first post-season win came in the 1980 Holiday Bowl, which has become known as the "Miracle Bowl" since BYU was trailing SMU 45–25 with four minutes left in the game and then came back to win.[8] BYU would win its 1981, 1983, and 1984 bowl games as well; and it earned the nickname "Quarterback U" for consistently producing All-American quarterbacks, which included Gifford Nielsen, Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon and Steve Young. During this period, Young finished second for the Heisman Trophy in 1983 and McMahon finished third for the trophy in 1981.
In 1984, BYU reached the pinnacle of college football when it was recognized as college football national champions, being the only unbeaten, untied team in the nation. The undefeated Cougars (12–0–0) opened the season with a 20–14 victory over Pitt (3–7–1), ranked No. 3 in the nation at the time and finished the season with a victory over the Michigan Wolverines (6–5–0). The victory over Michigan, 24–17 in the Holiday Bowl, marked the only time a national champion played in a bowl game before New Year's Day, and the last time a national championship was determined by a team from a non-power 5 conference.[9] Coupled with the 11 consecutive wins to close out the 1983 season, BYU concluded the 1984 championship on a 24-game winning streak. At the end of the season, BYU was voted National Champion after being number one in all four NCAA sanctioned polls AP, Coaches, NFF, and FWAA.
In 1985, quarterback Robbie Bosco finished third in the Heisman balloting; in 1986, defensive lineman Jason Buck became the first BYU player ever to win the Outland Trophy; and in 1989, offensive lineman Mo Elewonibi also won the Outland Trophy. In 1990, the Cougars achieved their first victory over a top-ranked team when they defeated the No. 1 Miami Hurricanes early in the season, and the season culminated with quarterback Ty Detmer becoming BYU's first and only Heisman Trophy winner. In 1996, BYU won the first ever WAC Championship Game in Las Vegas and earned a bid to play in the Cotton Bowl against Kansas State of the newly formed Big 12 Conference, making it BYU's first ever New Year's Day bowl game, which they won 19–15. BYU finished ranked No. 5 in both the Coaches and AP polls, and became the first team in NCAA history to win 14 games in a season.[10]
Mountain West era (1999–2010)
In 1999, BYU left the WAC along with seven other teams to form the Mountain West Conference, with the Cougars winning a share of the inaugural MWC championship. With the change of conferences, BYU also debuted a new color scheme, featuring a darker shade of blue, a redesigned cougar logo, and the introduction of tan as an accent color.[11] 1999 also featured the controversial "bib" home uniforms, which only lasted for one season.
Just prior to the 2000 season, Edwards announced that it would be his final year as the program's head coach, and prior to Edwards' final home game, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints PresidentGordon B. Hinckley announced that Cougar Stadium would be renamed "LaVell Edwards Stadium".[12] After punter Aaron Edwards threw a last second touchdown pass on a fake punt, Coach Edwards was carried off the field following the season closer against the Utes.
Former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Gary Crowton was hired to replace Edwards. His first season in 2001 was successful, earning a 12–2 record and running back Luke Staley earning the Doak Walker Award, but the Cougars posted losing records the following three seasons (including only nine conference wins)–BYU's first losing records in three decades. His teams also received negative publicity for infractions of the university's honor code. He was forced to resign on December 1, 2004.[13][14][15] BYU originally offered the job to Utah defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham, who had played for Edwards in the late 1970s. However, when Whittingham opted instead to become head coach at Utah, the Cougars instead offered the job to BYU defensive coordinator Bronco Mendenhall, who accepted.
Bronco Mendenhall brought stability and success to the BYU program after the Crowton years. At the time of his hiring, the 38-year-old Mendenhall was the second youngest Division 1 football head coach in the country. As the legendary LaVell Edwards told him shortly after being hired, "‘You have a tough job.’ Then there was a pause and silence,” says Mendenhall. “It wasn't very comforting to hear that. But then he just said, ‘But it's a great job.’”[16]
Mendenhall led BYU to a bowl game every season he was head coach and saw Top 25 finishes in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.[17]
Independent (2011–2022)
On September 1, 2010, BYU announced it would begin competition as a football independent starting in the 2011 season, primarily due to years of frustration with the lack of TV coverage in the Mountain West Conference and the University of Utah's departure for the Pac-12 Conference. That same day, BYU announced an 8-year contract with ESPN in which 11 games would be broadcast on one of the ESPN networks and BYU would retain the rights to utilize its on-campus broadcasting facilities and nationally syndicated station. The Cougars were reportedly considered for invitations by the Big XII Conference and former Big East Conference for all sports during this period, but neither opted to add BYU.
In 2011, BYU changed quarterbacks mid-season from sophomore Jake Heaps to junior Riley Nelson, and in 2012 three different quarterbacks were utilized at different points in the season. During the 2012 offseason, graduated defensive end Ziggy Ansah was drafted as the No. 5 overall pick of the 2013 NFL draft, tied for the highest draft BYU alumnus with Jim McMahon '82.[19] For the 2013 BYU football season, the Cougars were slated to compete against four pre-season-ranked teams.
In January 2015, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which had previously announced that from 2017 forward all members had to play at least one non-conference game each season against a "Power 5" team (i.e., a school in the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, or SEC, plus Notre Dame, an FBS independent but otherwise an ACC member), announced that games against BYU would not count toward the "Power 5" requirement, a stipulation also held by the SEC. Weeks later, both leagues reversed course and opted to count games against BYU and the other remaining FBS independent at that time, Army, toward meeting the P5 provision. In the case of the SEC, this change in policy was driven more by the trend of "Power 5" leagues requiring nine conference games. At the time of the report, the Big Ten, Big 12, and Pac-12 either had nine-game conference schedules or were introducing them in the near future. The ACC has an eight-game schedule, but also has a scheduling alliance with Notre Dame that has five ACC members playing the Fighting Irish each season. Additionally, three SEC teams had a total of five games scheduled with BYU from 2015 to 2020.[20] In July 2015, the Big Ten announced that games against BYU would count toward the conference's "Power 5" scheduling requirement that takes effect in 2016.[21] In late 2015, the Big XII Conference added a Power Five non-conference scheduling requirement and stated that BYU would not count toward filling that mandate.[22]
On December 4, 2015, Mendenhall accepted the head coach position with Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).[23] His 99 wins in 11 seasons are second all-time in school history, behind only Edwards.
BYU spent more than a week courting Navy Midshipmen football head coach Ken Niumatalolo to take over the Cougars program. After several days, which included a visit to Provo and public remarks about considering the job, Niumatalolo ultimately declined BYU's offer in order to remain with Navy. Athletics director Tom Holmoe moved on to several other potential candidates and on Dec. 19 introduced Oregon State defensive coordinator and former Cougars fullback Kalani Sitake as BYU's next head coach.[24]
At the time of his hiring, Kalani Sitake said, "I'm grateful for everything BYU gave me as a player. It's a dream come true for me to return home."[25]
While many have questioned whether independence long-term is sustainable, from a financial perspective it appeared to be so. BYU's ESPN contract was worth somewhere between $6–10 million annually, which was on par with what ACC teams received from a contract also negotiated around the same time.[26] ESPN was happy enough with its contract with BYU that it exercised an option to extend the deal through the 2019 season.[27] ESPN also helped BYU line up bowl deals, since as an independent, BYU was not part of any league bowl tie-ins.
BYU's estimated $67 million in annual revenue[28] placed it 55th in total revenue in 2018. That was comparable to the lower half of the Pac-12 and more than any Group of Five school, including every Mountain West institution.[29] In fact, the highest earning Mountain West school, San Diego State, generated $30 million in revenue, with more than 46% of that subsidized by the state of California. The Group of Five school with the most revenue without a subsidy was the University of Connecticut with $43 million, still nearly $20 million below BYU.
As an independent, BYU was one of just a handful of schools in all of college athletics to generate a profit, enjoying five times the Group of Five average revenue ($13 million).[30]
Big 12 (2023-present)
BYU playing against Kansas State in 2024
On September 10, 2021, the Big 12 Conference announced they had sent invitations to BYU to join the conference, along with Cincinnati, UCF, and Houston. BYU accepted the invitation and began competing in the conference in the 2023 season.
BYU struggled during its first season of Big 12 play in 2023, finishing 5-7 for a 2-7 conference record.
BYU's football program has two historic rivalries: one with the Utah Utes in a game referred to as "The Holy War", and another with the Utah State Aggies in "The Battle for the Old Wagon Wheel". BYU competes with Utah, and Utah State for the Beehive Boot. Both of these series have experienced dormancy in recent years due to various conference changes between the three programs.
BYU leads the series with Utah State 51–37–3 through the 2022 season.[34]
All-time record vs. current Big 12 teams
Official record (including any NCAA imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current Big 12 opponents as of the completion of the 2024 regular season.[35]
Team awards for the BYU Cougars include 23 conference titles and one national championship in 1984. For player awards, BYU has produced 52 All-Americans (13 Consensus All-Americans).[36]
Andy Reid, offensive tackle 1978–80, starter on 1980 Holiday Bowl champion team, three-time Super Bowl Champion head coach (LIV, LVII, LVIII with the Kansas City Chiefs), 2002 AP Coach of the Year as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, 5th all-time in NFL history in wins overall, 2nd most playoff wins in NFL history.
Brian Billick, Tight End 1974, Graduate Assistant 1978. Went on to coached at San Diego State (1981-85), Utah State (1986-88), and Stanford (1989-91) before heading to the NFL. From 1992-1998, he coached at the Minnesota Vikings, and between 1999 and 2007, Brian was the head coach of Baltimore Ravens. In his second year as head coach with the Ravens, Brian lead them on to win Super Bowl XXXV in the 2000-01 season.
Uniforms
Historical BYU helmets on display at the Legacy Hall
From the 1970s to 1999—a period coinciding with some of the school's best and most prominent football seasons—BYU school colors were royal blue and white. The football team generally wore royal blue jerseys and white pants at home, and white jerseys and royal blue pants on the road.
In 1999, Coach Edwards' penultimate year, the school colors switched to dark blue, white, and tan, and the football helmets switched from white to dark blue. The block 'Y' remained on the sides of the helmet but received a new, more modern treatment. The home uniforms consisted of dark blue jerseys with white "bib" and dark blue pants, and the away uniforms consisted of white jerseys with white pants. These new uniforms were disliked by both the conservative fans in Provo and the NCAA, who required the team to remove the white bib on the front of the blue home jersey in 2000 (NCAA rules require that a team's jersey have a single dominant color). The home jersey thereafter was modified with blue replacing the white on the bib area.
These uniforms lasted until 2004, when a uniform new style incorporating New York Jets-style shoulder stripes was introduced (the helmets remained the same). The new uniforms were worn in a "mix-and-match" strategy—e.g., the home blue jerseys were worn with either blue or white pants and the white away jerseys were worn with either blue or white pants. This uniform incarnation lasted for only one season.
Ultimately, the traditional design with the white helmet and former logo was re-introduced for the 2005 season. While the uniforms were also changed to be similar to the 1980s uniforms, the darker blue remained instead of the former royal blue, but all tan highlights were eliminated. This change was done at the insistence of new head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who wanted to return the team to the successful traditions of the 1980s. Normally, it takes a minimum of 1–2 years to create, design and approve a uniform change. When Nike, the team's uniform supplier, said that they could not possibly make the change in just five months, former head coach and BYU legend LaVell Edwards made a call to Nike and asked them to help the new Cougar coach. Edwards had worked with Nike on several occasions since his retirement, and with the legendary coach's weight behind the request, BYU was able to take the field in 2005 in new, traditional uniforms.[41] One slight change in the uniform came in the 2007 season, when a small traditional 'Y' logo was added to the bottom of the collar.
In 2009, BYU used a throwback jersey paying tribute to the 25-year anniversary of the 1984 national championship. They were the same design as the contemporary jerseys, but used royal blue instead of navy blue. They were introduced against rival University of Utah and again in the Las Vegas Bowl against Oregon State.
BYU Blackout Uniforms in 2012
On October 13, 2012, BYU debuted a "blackout" jersey for a home game against Oregon State with royal blue accents and black facemasks. The endzones were also painted black for the occasion. In subsequent seasons, BYU has often had one blackout game per year.
In 2013, BYU introduced an all-royal combination (with the exception of the helmets, which remained its traditional white) against Utah. They wore it once more the following year against Utah State. The combination did not reappear until the 2018 Potato Bowl against Western Michigan.[42] In 2015, renditions of the "throwback" royal blue uniforms appeared, once in the team's Homecoming game against East Carolina, and again against Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl.
With the hiring of Kalani Sitake as head coach at the end of 2015, BYU has seen the gradual return of wearing royal blue combinations. They initially only made appearances in rivalry and other campus event games, but from 2017 onward, they have been worn more regularly. In 2019, several new combinations were introduced, including an all-white combination with royal accents,[43] and a variation on the "away" combination with some styling changes to pay tribute to the uniforms of the 1960s.[44] This last alternate uniform was accompanied by a throwback midfield logo and an endzone paint scheme that matched the field design used by BYU in the 1960s. A more modern design of the retro combination appeared in a game at the end of the season at San Diego State.
In 2020, the team reintroduced a gray facemask that paid tribute to former Cougar and Houston Oilers quarterback Gifford Nielsen for their game at the University of Houston. The team wore the gray facemasks several times that season, which was highlighted by the most frequent usage of the royal blue in decades.
In March 2021, the program added two new helmets to their collection, with royal blue helmets paying tribute to the teams of the 1970s and navy blue helmets reminiscent of the combinations used from 1999-2004; the navy helmet especially recognized the highly successful 2001 team that featured players such as Luke Staley and Brandon Doman.
On November 1, 2023, BYU's Big 12 opponents from 2024 through 2027 were revealed, with their rivalry game against Utah being a protected annual game.[47]
LaVell Edwards Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the western United States, on the campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Primarily used for college football, it is the home field of the BYU Cougars, a member of the Big 12 Conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Opened as "Cougar Stadium" in 1964, its seating capacity is 62,073. Following the 2024 departure of Oklahoma and Texas for the Southeastern Conference, it is the largest permanent stadium in the Big 12.
Reuben LaVell Edwards was an American college football head coach for Brigham Young University (BYU). With 257 career victories, he ranks as one of the most successful college football coaches of all time. Among his many notable accomplishments, Edwards guided BYU to a national championship in 1984 and coached Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer in 1990.
The Holy War is the name given to the American college football rivalry game played by the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars and the University of Utah Utes, nearly annually. It is part of the larger BYU–Utah sports rivalry. In this context, the term "Holy War" refers to the fact that BYU is owned and administered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the U of U is a secular, public university, which has a substantial LDS student population. Currently, the U of U president and head football coach are Latter-day Saints.
Thomas Allen Holmoe is an American college athletics administrator and former football player and coach. He has been the athletic director at Brigham Young University (BYU) since 2005. Holmoe played college football at BYU and then professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Francisco 49ers from 1983 to 1989. He served as the head football coach at the University of California, Berkeley (Cal) from 1997 to 2001.
Marc Bronco Clay Mendenhall is an American college football coach who is the head coach of Utah State University. He was the head coach at the University of New Mexico (UNM) Lobos in Albuquerque for the 2024 season. He previously coached at the University of Virginia. He stepped down after the 2021 season. Mendenhall joined Virginia in 2015 after spending the previous eleven seasons as the head football coach at Brigham Young University (BYU). He has a career record of 135 victories and 81 losses and has recorded fourteen postseason bowl game appearances with seven victories.
David Gary Crowton is an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Louisiana Tech University from 1996 to 1998 and at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 2001 to 2004, compiling a career college football coaching record of 47–36.
The 2006 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars won the Mountain West Conference (MWC) championship outright with an 11–2 record, their first unbeaten conference play since 2001. This was also BYU's third season with at least a share of the MWC title. The Cougars played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium, named after its legendary coach, LaVell Edwards.
The 1990 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University (BYU) in the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cougars offense scored 524 points while the defense allowed 350 points. Led by head coach LaVell Edwards, the team participated in the Holiday Bowl.
The 2009 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars were led by head coach Bronco Mendenhall and played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Kelaokalani Fifita "Kalani" Sitake is a Tongan–American football coach and former player. He has been the head football coach at Brigham Young University (BYU) since 2015, and is the first Tongan to become a collegiate football head coach. Sitake played college football as a fullback for the BYU Cougars under coach LaVell Edwards, and graduated in 2000. Prior to becoming head coach at BYU, Sitake was the defensive coordinator and associate head coach at the University of Utah, and the defensive coordinator and associate head coach at Oregon State University (OSU).
The 2013 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars, led by head coach Bronco Mendenhall, played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium. This was the third year BYU competed as an independent. They finished the season 8–5. They were invited to the Fight Hunger Bowl where they lost to Washington, 31–16.
The 2015 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University (BYU) in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars, led by 11th-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall, played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium. This was the fifth year BYU competed as an NCAA Division I FBS independent. They finished the season 9–4. They were invited to the Las Vegas Bowl, where they lost to rival Utah.
The 2016 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars, led by first-year head coach Kalani Sitake, played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium. This was the sixth year BYU competed as an NCAA Division I FBS independent. They finished the season 9–4. They were invited to the Poinsettia Bowl where they defeated Wyoming.
The 1991 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 20th-year head coach LaVell Edwards, the Cougars compiled a record of 8–3–2 overall and 7–0–1 in conference play, winning the WAC title for the third consecutive season. BYU was invited to the Holiday Bowl, where the Cougars tied Iowa.
The 2018 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars were led by third-year head coach Kalani Sitake, and played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium. This was the seventh year BYU competed as an NCAA Division I FBS independent. They finished the season 7–6. They were invited to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl where they defeated Western Michigan.
The 1998 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cougars were led by 27th-year head coach LaVell Edwards and played their home games at Cougar Stadium in Provo, Utah. The team competed as members of the Western Athletic Conference, winning a share of the Pacific Division title with a conference record of 7–1. The Cougars advanced to the 1998 WAC Championship Game over division co-champion San Diego State due to a head-to-head victory. After losing to Air Force in the conference championship game, BYU was invited to the 1998 Liberty Bowl, where they were defeated by the undefeated Tulane Green Wave. This was BYU's last season in the WAC before joining the Mountain West Conference in 1999.
The 2019 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars were led by fourth-year head coach Kalani Sitake, and played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium. This was the eighth year that BYU competed as an NCAA Division I FBS independent.
The 2020 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars were led by fifth-year head coach Kalani Sitake and played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium. This was the 10th year that BYU competed as an NCAA Division I FBS independent.
The 2022 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars were led by seventh-year head coach Kalani Sitake and played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium. This was the 12th and final year that BYU competed as an NCAA Division I FBS independent as in 2023, the football program joined the Big 12 Conference.
↑ "1984 National Championship". BYUCougars.com: The Official Site of Brigham Young Athletics. 2011. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
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