BYU Cougars

Big 12Provo, UTLaVell Edwards Stadium

2026: 6–⁠0 (3–⁠0 Big 12), No. 2 in the AP poll. Last: beat No. 2 Notre Dame 28–⁠24 at home. Next: at UCF, Saturday, Oct 24.

  1. W 63–⁠7Utah Tech
  2. W 28–⁠17Arizona
  3. W 41–⁠23at Colorado State
  4. W 17–⁠10at TCU
  5. W 24–⁠10Iowa State
  6. W 28–⁠24No. 2 Notre Dame
  7. Oct 24at UCF
  8. Oct 31Arizona State
  9. Nov 7at Utah
  10. Nov 14Baylor
  11. Nov 21at Kansas
  12. Nov 28Cincinnati
  • Outfitted by Nike

BYU has played football since at least 1922 and is 645–⁠447–⁠26 in the 1,118 games on record. BYU claims one national championship (1984). The Cougars finished No. 1 in the final AP poll in 1984. They have won 19 Western Athletic Conference titles (the last in 1996) and four Mountain West Conference titles, counting shared titles. Ty Detmer won the Heisman Trophy here in 1990. Since 1960, the NFL Draft has taken 99 players from here in its first seven rounds, 10 of them in the first round. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 6 players and 1 coach from BYU. LaVell Edwards (1972–⁠2000) won more games here than any other coach: 257. The most-played rival is Utah: 103 meetings, Utah leads 62–⁠37–⁠4. This season, under Kalani Sitake, they’re 6–⁠0.

LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo
LaVell Edwards StadiumPhoto: Dalee Despain, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From the numbers

  • BYU is one of six FBS teams that are unbeaten this season, with James Madison, Miami, Texas Tech, UCLA and Utah.

Computed from every game through Oct 17 and the score after every scoring play; a note appears only when few teams share it. All the numbers.

On this date in 2019BYU beat No. 14 Boise State 28–⁠25 at home.

Résumé

All-time record
633–⁠448–⁠27 official; 645–⁠447–⁠26 on file; how we count
Postseason
20–⁠23 bowls, title games, playoff
AP No. 1 finishes
1
Weeks at No. 1
3 of 284 ranked
Elo now
1723 8th of 138 FBS
Computer rankings
Massey No. 7 · Composite No. 11 in FBS, Oct 17; up 5 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
Best season by Elo
1984 rated 1803
Conference titles
23 last in 2007
Bowl record
19–⁠22–⁠1 official, bowls only
Seasons
102 since 1922, 1,118 games

Identity

Fight song
The Cougar Song
Student section
The ROC
Apparel
Nike

2026 season 6–⁠0

RosterFull 2026 season
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsUtah TechW 63–⁠796%
Sep 12vsArizonaW 28–⁠1765%
Sep 19atColorado StateW 41–⁠2372%
Oct 3atTCUW 17–⁠1057%
Oct 9vsIowa StateW 24–⁠1074%
Oct 17vs2Notre DameW 28–⁠2449%
Oct 24atUCFPreview76%
Oct 31vsArizona StatePreview81%
Nov 7atUtahPreview43%
Nov 14vsBaylorPreview79%
Nov 21atKansasPreview77%
Nov 28vsCincinnatiPreview81%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

This season, game by game

BYU’s Elo through 2026: 1641 going into the opener, 1723 after the latest game; AP rank from No. 14 to unranked.16251650167517001725Elo 1641 going in; beat Utah Tech 63–7; AP No. 14Elo 1644 going in; beat Arizona 28–17; AP No. 15Elo 1661 going in; beat Colorado State 41–23; AP No. 11Elo 1676 going in; beat TCU 17–10; AP No. 10Elo 1693 going in; beat Iowa State 24–10; AP No. 8Elo 1707 going in; beat Notre Dame 28–24; AP No. 8Now: Elo 1723 after the latest game1723
1415111088·
Elo going into each game, then after the latest. Filled dots: wins; open: losses. Numbers under the line: the AP rank going into each game, and in the newest poll (a dot: unranked).

Future schedule

2027–⁠34
20282 games: 1 home, 1 neutral, non-conference only
20293 games: 2 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20303 games: 2 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20313 games: 3 home, non-conference only
20321 game: 1 home, non-conference only
20332 games: 1 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20341 game: 1 home, non-conference only
  • USF

BYU’s announced games beyond the seasons on our schedule, the next 8 seasons (1 more listed), as its Wikipedia article lists them (announced schedules as of December 22, 2025). Schedules change; a season shows only the games named so far, and many articles list non-conference games only. Future schedules: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

On the 2026 team

Program greats See all

Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at BYU.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.

Around the program

Apparel
Nike · Official source
Mascot
Cosmo the Cougar · Official source
Student section
The ROC · Official source
Athletic director
Brian Santiago · Official source
Offensive coordinator
Aaron Roderick · Official source
Defensive coordinator
Kelly Poppinga · Official source
Radio flagship
KSL · Official source

Found by several AI researchers searching the web, then kept only where the page loads and says so in words naming the program; every quote is checked again each time the data is rebuilt. Official source: the school’s own page. All of them.

The apparel deal

Nike, from 2019. 7 years, annual value more than double the prior deal. A seven-year deal ran through the 2025-26 season. The current term hasn't been confirmed here.

  • SportBusiness: Nike extension through the 2025-26 school year, with more than double the previous annual deal value
  • The Daily Universe: Agreement signed March 2019, seven years through the 2025-26 season

Apparel deals: Field Drip. Terms as the outlets reported them; checked Oct 3, 2026.

Program strength since 1922

Best seasons ever
BYU end-of-season Elo from 1922 to 2026, best in 1984 at 1803.1300150017001900194019601980200020201984 peak: Elo 1803
End-of-season Elo. Dashed line: 1500, an average FBS team. Filled dots: finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

On Bluesky

From reporters and writers who cover college football, linked to their posts on Bluesky.

More coverage

Found through the GDELT Project, which indexes news sites worldwide. Each link opens the story on the outlet’s own site; each picture is that outlet’s own preview of its story, shown from its site and credited to it.

Podcasts

Found through Podcast Index, the open podcast directory. Each link opens the episode’s page.

Head coaches

CoachYearsRecord
Kalani Sitake2016–⁠202690–⁠45
Bronco Mendenhall2005–⁠201599–⁠43
Gary Crowton2001–⁠200426–⁠23
LaVell Edwards1972–⁠2000257–⁠101–⁠3
Tommy Hudspeth1964–⁠197139–⁠42–⁠1
Hal Mitchell1961–⁠19638–⁠22
Tally Stevens1959–⁠19606–⁠15
Harold Kopp1956–⁠195813–⁠14–⁠3
Charles Atkinson1949–⁠195518–⁠49–⁠3
Edwin Kimball1937–⁠194834–⁠32–⁠8
Floyd Millet19422–⁠5
Ott Romney1928–⁠193642–⁠31–⁠5
C.J. Hart1925–⁠19276–⁠12–⁠2
Alvin Twitchell1922–⁠19245–⁠13–⁠1

Most-played series

All rivalries
OpponentGamesBYU record
Utah10337–⁠62–⁠4 ‡
Utah State9151–⁠37–⁠3
Wyoming8047–⁠30–⁠3
Colorado State7040–⁠27–⁠3
New Mexico6045–⁠14–⁠1
San Diego State3829–⁠8–⁠1
UTEP3729–⁠7–⁠1
Hawai’i3223–⁠9

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file. Each series page gives both.

Rivals the program names: Utah, Utah State.

The trophy it holds: The Old Wagon Wheel (Utah State). Who holds each comes from the games on file; the trophies from Wikipedia.

Every opponent (141)

Every program BYU has played, A to Z, with BYU’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated, or with forfeits counted. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file.

Conference titles

23, counting shared titles
Mountain West Conference 4
1999 (shared), 2001, 2006, 2007
Western Athletic Conference 19
1965, 1974, 1976 (shared), 1977 (shared), 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 (shared), 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 (shared), 1993 (shared), 1995 (shared), 1996
WAC Pacific 1
1998 (tied)
WAC Mountain 1
1996

As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.

Conferences

  1. Mountain States Conference 1938–⁠1942 and 1946–⁠1947
  2. Skyline Conference 1948–⁠1961
  3. Mountain West Conference 1999–⁠2010
  4. Independent 2011–⁠2022
  5. Big 12 since 2023
  • 1938Joined the Mountain States Conference from the Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference. Source
  • 1962Joined the WAC from the Skyline Conference. Source
  • 1999Joined the Mountain West Conference from the WAC. Source
  • 2011Went independent from the Mountain West Conference in football. Source
  • 2023Joined the Big 12 from independence in football, announced September 10, 2021. Source

BYU’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

National award winners

All awards
2001Luke Staley RBDoak Walker
1991Ty Detmer QBDavey O’Brien
1990Ty Detmer QBHeisman, Maxwell, Davey O’Brien
1989Mohammed Elewonibi OGOutland
1986Jason Buck DTOutland
1984LaVell Edwards coachEddie Robinson
1983Steve Young QBDavey O’Brien
1981Jim McMahon QBDavey O’Brien
1979LaVell Edwards coachBobby Dodd Award

Consensus All-Americans 14

2020Brady Christensen OL
2009Dennis Pitta TE
2001Luke Staley RB
1991Ty Detmer QB
1990Chris Smith TE
1990Ty Detmer QB
1989Mohammed Elewonibi OT
1986Jason Buck DE
1983Gordon Hudson TE
1983Steve Young QB
1982Gordon Hudson TE
1981Jim McMahon QB
1980Nick Eyre OT
1979Marc Wilson QB

Led the nation 29

2021Tyler Allgeier rushing touchdowns (23 TD)
2008Austin Collie receiving yards (1,538 yds)
2001Luke Staley rushing touchdowns (24 TD), points (170 pts), points per game (15.45)
1996Steve Sarkisian passer rating (173.6)
1995James Dye punt return average (21.9)
1994John Walsh passing yards (3,712 yds)
1994Mike Maxwell passing touchdowns (29 TD)
1991Ty Detmer passing yards (4,031 yds), total offense (4,001 yds), total offense per game (333.4)
1990Ty Detmer passing yards (5,188 yds)
1989Ty Detmer passer rating (175.6)
1985Mark Bellini receiving touchdowns (14 TD)
1985Robbie Bosco passing touchdowns (30 TD), total offense (4,141 yds)
1985|Robbie Bosco passing yards (4,273 yds)
1984Robbie Bosco passing yards (3,875 yds), passing touchdowns (33 TD), total offense per game (327.7)
1983Kirk Pendleton receiving touchdowns (11 TD)
1983Steve Young passing yards (3,902 yds), passing touchdowns (33 TD), passer rating (168.5), total offense (4,346 yds), total offense per game (395.1)
1981Jim McMahon passer rating (155.0), total offense per game (345.8)
1980Clay Brown receiving touchdowns (15 TD)
1980Jim McMahon passing yards (4,571 yds), passing touchdowns (47 TD), passer rating (176.9), total offense (4,627 yds), total offense per game (385.6)
1979Marc Wilson passing yards (3,720 yds), passing touchdowns (29 TD), total offense (3,580 yds), total offense per game (325.5)
1976Gifford Nielsen passing touchdowns (29 TD)
1974Craig Kimball passing touchdowns (23 TD)
1973Jay Miller receptions (100 catches), receiving yards (1,181 yds)
1972Pete Van Valkenburg rushing yards (1,386 yds)
1971Golden Richards punt return average (18.9)
1969Chris Farasopoulos punt return yards (527 yds), kickoff return average (32.2)
1966Virgil Carter total offense (2,545 yds)
1961Paul Allen kickoff return average (40.1)
1960Bruce Samples kickoff return yards (577 yds)

The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.

Heisman runners-up and finalists

The votes
1991Ty Detmer QB3rd
1985Robbie Bosco QB3rd
1984Robbie Bosco QB3rd
1983Steve Young QB2nd
1981Jim McMahon QB3rd
1980Jim McMahon QB5th
1979Marc Wilson QB3rd

Second to fifth in the vote, from each season’s Wikipedia article.

In the Hall of Fame

Every inductee
Players
6
Coaches
1
2012Ty Detmer QB
2009Gordon Hudson TE
2004LaVell Edwards coach here, 1972–⁠2000
2001Steve Young QB
1999Jim McMahon QB
1996Marc Wilson QB
1994Gifford Nielsen QB

In the NFL Draft

By college
Drafted, rounds 1–⁠7
99 since 1960
First-round picks
10
2021Zach Wilson QBNo. 2, New York Jets
2013Ezekiel Ansah DENo. 5, Detroit Lions
2000Rob Morris LBNo. 28, Indianapolis Colts
1999John Tait OTNo. 14, Kansas City Chiefs
1987Shawn Knight DENo. 11, New Orleans Saints
1987Jason Buck DENo. 17, Cincinnati Bengals
1985Trevor Matich CNo. 28, New England Patriots
1984Todd Shell LBNo. 24, San Francisco 49ers

Who came and went in the 2026 transfer portal, and every portal year.

The school

Brigham Young University
Enrollment
35,873 32,952 undergraduates, fall 2024
Where
Provo, Utah
Public or private
Private nonprofit; Research 1
Founded
1875
Graduates’ median earnings
$75,790 10 years after starting

Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.

Official accounts

Football
X @BYUfootballInstagram @byufootballFacebook BYUFootball

Official accounts: the schools’ athletics websites: the ones byucougars.com lists for its football program, as of Oct 12, 2026.

Voices

play-by-play
  1. 1965–⁠2000Paul James radio

From the announcers’ Wikipedia articles (CC BY-SA), with the years as each article gives them: those in Wikipedia’s BYU football announcers category, and any whose article names them the program’s play-by-play voice. Television network crews and announcers whose articles give no years are left out.

Books

And 6 more

Books: Open Library (CC0), filed under the program’s Library of Congress subject heading; most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.

Season by season

National champions

Shaded: national title seasons, No. 1 in the final AP poll or claimed by BYU (1 claimed).

SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20266–⁠03–⁠014Kalani Sitake172321.5
202512–⁠28–⁠111Kalani Sitake171215.9
202411–⁠27–⁠213Kalani Sitake166015.3
20235–⁠72–⁠7Kalani Sitake1474-3.3
20228–⁠525Kalani Sitake1584-1.4
202110–⁠319Kalani Sitake16748.9
202011–⁠111Kalani Sitake174419.2
20197–⁠6Kalani Sitake15351.3
20187–⁠6Kalani Sitake15436.2
20174–⁠9Kalani Sitake1443-7.4
20169–⁠4Kalani Sitake16698.0
20159–⁠4Bronco Mendenhall16218.7
20148–⁠5Bronco Mendenhall157610.2
20138–⁠5Bronco Mendenhall162110.0
20128–⁠5Bronco Mendenhall162310.9
201110–⁠3Bronco Mendenhall16276.9
20107–⁠65–⁠3Bronco Mendenhall15823.3
200911–⁠27–⁠12012Bronco Mendenhall170112.7
200810–⁠36–⁠21625Bronco Mendenhall165812.2
200711–⁠28–⁠014Bronco Mendenhall171715.4
200611–⁠28–⁠016Bronco Mendenhall170221.9
20056–⁠65–⁠3Bronco Mendenhall15102.8
20045–⁠64–⁠3Gary Crowton14857.8
20034–⁠83–⁠4Gary Crowton14191.5
20025–⁠72–⁠5Gary Crowton1474-10.2
Every season back to 1922 (77 more)
SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
200112–⁠27–⁠025Gary Crowton16279.6
20006–⁠64–⁠3LaVell Edwards15482.4
19998–⁠45–⁠2LaVell Edwards159813.0
19989–⁠57–⁠1LaVell Edwards15726.6
19976–⁠54–⁠419LaVell Edwards1543-0.7
199614–⁠19–⁠05LaVell Edwards173820.0
19957–⁠46–⁠2LaVell Edwards15826.5
199410–⁠36–⁠218LaVell Edwards16019.2
19936–⁠66–⁠219LaVell Edwards15376.4
19928–⁠56–⁠224LaVell Edwards165414.9
19918–⁠3–⁠27–⁠0–⁠11923LaVell Edwards166418.6
199010–⁠37–⁠11622LaVell Edwards164119.8
198910–⁠37–⁠11922LaVell Edwards163315.7
19889–⁠45–⁠3LaVell Edwards158211.2
19879–⁠47–⁠1LaVell Edwards15995.1
19868–⁠56–⁠218LaVell Edwards16297.5
198511–⁠37–⁠11016LaVell Edwards174420.5
198413–⁠08–⁠01LaVell Edwards180322.1
198311–⁠17–⁠07LaVell Edwards175526.1
19828–⁠47–⁠1LaVell Edwards168416.6
198111–⁠27–⁠11613LaVell Edwards174817.8
198012–⁠16–⁠112LaVell Edwards179228.2
197911–⁠17–⁠013LaVell Edwards173226.3
19789–⁠45–⁠1LaVell Edwards161413.1
19779–⁠26–⁠120LaVell Edwards165012.2
19769–⁠36–⁠1LaVell Edwards16037.4
19756–⁠54–⁠3LaVell Edwards15244.4
19747–⁠4–⁠16–⁠0–⁠1LaVell Edwards15707.4
19735–⁠63–⁠4LaVell Edwards15063.7
19727–⁠45–⁠2LaVell Edwards1531-8.0
19715–⁠63–⁠4Tommy Hudspeth1462-0.3
19703–⁠81–⁠6Tommy Hudspeth1396-9.0
19696–⁠44–⁠3Tommy Hudspeth1494
19682–⁠81–⁠5Tommy Hudspeth1398
19676–⁠43–⁠2Tommy Hudspeth1560
19668–⁠23–⁠2Tommy Hudspeth1600
19656–⁠44–⁠1Tommy Hudspeth1518
19643–⁠6–⁠10–⁠4Tommy Hudspeth1391
19632–⁠80–⁠4Hal Mitchell1323
19624–⁠62–⁠2Hal Mitchell1449
19612–⁠82–⁠4Hal Mitchell1307
19603–⁠82–⁠5Tally Stevens1312
19593–⁠72–⁠5Tally Stevens1365
19586–⁠45–⁠2Harold Kopp1484
19575–⁠3–⁠25–⁠1–⁠1Harold Kopp1399
19562–⁠7–⁠11–⁠5–⁠1Harold Kopp1274
19551–⁠90–⁠7Charles Atkinson1202
19541–⁠81–⁠6Charles Atkinson1284
19532–⁠7–⁠11–⁠5–⁠1Charles Atkinson1332
19524–⁠63–⁠4Charles Atkinson1344
19516–⁠3–⁠12–⁠3–⁠1Charles Atkinson1348
19504–⁠5–⁠11–⁠3–⁠1Charles Atkinson1244
19490–⁠110–⁠5Charles Atkinson1161
19485–⁠61–⁠3Edwin Kimball1324
19473–⁠71–⁠5Edwin Kimball1313
19465–⁠4–⁠13–⁠2–⁠1Edwin Kimball1397
19422–⁠51–⁠4Floyd Millet1365
19414–⁠3–⁠23–⁠1–⁠2Edwin Kimball1453
19402–⁠4–⁠22–⁠3–⁠1Edwin Kimball1460
19395–⁠2–⁠22–⁠2–⁠2Edwin Kimball1512
19384–⁠3–⁠13–⁠2–⁠1Edwin Kimball1530
19376–⁠35–⁠2Edwin Kimball1549
19364–⁠54–⁠4Ott Romney1447
19354–⁠43–⁠4Ott Romney1465
19344–⁠53–⁠5Ott Romney1450
19335–⁠45–⁠3Ott Romney1498
19328–⁠15–⁠1Ott Romney1539
19314–⁠42–⁠3Ott Romney1397
19305–⁠2–⁠44–⁠1–⁠1Ott Romney1445
19295–⁠34–⁠2Ott Romney1422
19283–⁠3–⁠11–⁠3–⁠1Ott Romney1404
19272–⁠4–⁠12–⁠4C.J. Hart1361
19261–⁠5–⁠11–⁠4–⁠1C.J. Hart1359
19253–⁠33–⁠3C.J. Hart1436
19242–⁠3–⁠11–⁠3–⁠1Alvin Twitchell1396
19232–⁠51–⁠5Alvin Twitchell1347
19221–⁠51–⁠5Alvin Twitchell1357

Officially 633–⁠448–⁠27 since 1922 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 645–⁠447–⁠26 (+12 wins, −1 loss, −1 tie). Official totals drop vacated and forfeited wins.

No season on file for 1943–⁠45: wartime seasons, when many programs didn’t play.

Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.