Inside BYU’s unique surge to the top of college football
BYU’s Rise Is Built on an Identity It Refuses to Dilute
Healfromzero.com – Before the sun came up over Utah’s Wasatch Range, Kalani Sitake was already setting the tone for one of the biggest days in recent BYU football history. Alongside Cosmo, the university mascot, the Cougars’ head coach danced on the set of ESPN’s “College GameDay,” blending movement inspired by Tongan ceremonial traditions with an unmistakably modern rhythm.
Hours later, BYU would host No. 2 Notre Dame in Provo, the Fighting Irish’s first visit to campus since 2004. The scale of the occasion was apparent well before kickoff, as fans arrived in the dark for the nationally televised pregame program. Yet Sitake appeared relaxed enough to dance in front of a huge audience.
That composure drew the attention of Nick Saban, who contrasted Sitake’s approach with his own pregame nerves.
“My hat’s off to you,” Saban said. “You’re up here dancing before a game. I was so nervous before a big game, I couldn’t even spit.”
BYU went on to defeat Notre Dame and now sits at No. 2 nationally, an accomplishment that stands out in a college-football landscape increasingly shaped by aggressive spending and rapid player movement. The program is not a newcomer to national relevance. LaVell Edwards, whose influence on pass-heavy offensive football remains significant, helped establish BYU as a recognizable force long ago. The Cougars have remained visible through multiple conference arrangements and a period as an independent program.
Constraints That Have Become a Defining Advantage
Brigham Young University operates under the ownership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The church emphasizes self-reliance and living within financial means, values that create a distinctive backdrop for an athletics department competing during the NIL era.
Its student-athletes are also subject to the university honor code, which bars premarital sex, alcohol, tobacco, coffee and profanity. In an era when athletes can transfer quickly when their role or situation changes, BYU has found that some highly capable players are not only willing to enroll under those expectations but remain committed to the program.
The school’s profile is unusual in other ways. About 98% of BYU undergraduates are Mormon, while its diversity often reflects the varied places from which students arrive. Its quarterback provides another illustration of the program’s unconventional makeup: he was raised Catholic, has a Thai mother who named him Bear, and spoke bluntly after the victory over Notre Dame.
“We put our balls on the chopping block.”
From the outside, BYU’s rules, religious character and financial parameters can look like obstacles. People within the program and those closely connected to the university see the equation differently. A clearly defined culture narrows the field of choices, but it can also make the program’s message more coherent for coaches, athletes and supporters.
Steve Young, the three-time Super Bowl champion who graduated from BYU in 1984, believes the institution’s firmness is an asset rather than a liability.
“In some ways, because of the realities of being a religious institution with firm beliefs and principles in the wild west of NIL, we have a clearer vision of what we can and can’t do and who we are,” Young said. “In a sort of frictionless system, it’s about, who are you willing to be? We’re willing to be something unique. The complexity is really the beauty of it.”
Ryan Smith Represents a New Kind of Influence
Ryan Smith’s relationship with BYU football began when he was very young. His father, Scott Smith, taught marketing research at the university, and attending home games in Provo was a regular part of family life.
“It’s just what you did,” Smith said.
While studying at BYU, Smith left before completing his degree to work with his father on a startup intended to make advanced research easier to use. When Scott Smith was diagnosed with throat cancer, Ryan joined the effort in part to help bring the idea forward. That company, Qualtrics, was acquired by a German company for $8 billion in 2018.
Smith has since become one of Utah’s most prominent sports investors. He bought the NBA’s Utah Jazz, relocated the Arizona Coyotes and established Utah’s first NHL franchise, the Mammoth. He has connections to Salt Lake’s MLS club and helped the city secure the 2034 Winter Olympics. On the Saturday of the Notre Dame game, he added $1 million to raise the stakes for the student kicker participating on “GameDay.”
With his backward cap and place at No. 1,285 on Forbes’ billionaire ranking, Smith can seem like an unconventional public face for BYU. But his wealth and his commitment to church principles underline a central tension surrounding the school: financial resources and Mormon values are not necessarily incompatible.
BYU has long regarded athletics as part of its broader mission. For a university frequently reduced to stereotypes or misunderstandings, football offers a powerful national stage. The current surge is therefore about more than a ranking or a single win over Notre Dame. It is a demonstration that a program with pronounced boundaries can still compete at the sport’s highest levels—and perhaps gain clarity from the very traits that make it different.
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