BYU Cougars

The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference for all sports except men's volleyball which is a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

History All teams are named the "Cougars"; the name was first introduced by Eugene L. Roberts in the 1920s, and initially only applied to the football team. In 1924, live cougar kittens named Cleo and Tarbo were brought to BYU and used as its mascots. In 1930, Tarbo died and Cleo was sent to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City.BYU special collections reference page on Cleo and Tarbo By the 1950s all sports teams were known as the Cougars and it was decided that having a person in a costume was a better mascot form than live animals. The athletics mascot, Cosmo the Cougar, was created by Dwayne Stevenson, and made his first appearance before BYU fans on October 15, 1953. The school's fight song is the "Cougar Fight Song".

BYU is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the overwhelming majority of its students are members of that church. Because many of its players serve full-time missions for two years, BYU's athletes are often older on average than other schools' players. The NCAA allows students to serve missions for two years without subtracting that time from their eligibility period. This has caused minor controversy. However, it is largely recognized as not lending the school any significant advantage, as players receive no athletic and little physical training during their missions. BYU has also received attention from sports networks for refusal to play games on Sunday, as well as disciplining players due to honor code violations.

BYU was a member of the West Coast Conference from 2011 to 2022, except for football, which played as an independent. From 1999 to 2011 they were a member of the Mountain West Conference and before the formation of the MW, the Cougars competed in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the Mountain States Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference. BYU officially joined the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023.

Sports sponsored

Baseball Basketball Basketball Cross country Cross country Golf Football Gymnastics Golf Soccer Swimming and diving Softball Tennis Swimming and diving Track and field† Tennis Volleyball Track and field† Volleyball

Football

The Brigham Young University Cougars football program competes at the NCAA Division I FBS (formerly I-A) level. Coached by Kalani Sitake, the team plays at LaVell Edwards Stadium. In 1984, the undefeated Cougars were voted the consensus national champion BYU is known as a "quarterback factory" for producing several successful quarterbacks, including 1990 Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer. Alumni who have played in the NFL include Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Gifford Nielsen, Bart Oates, Chad Lewis, Vai Sikahema, Todd Christensen, John Beck, and Zach Wilson.

Men's basketball

The BYU men's basketball team is ranked among top 25 NCAA programs for all-time total victories. As of 2006, BYU had 82 winning seasons, 26 conference titles, 21 NCAA tournament invites, 10 NIT invites, and two NIT titles (1951 and 1966). In 2005, the program was ranked 36th in Street & Smiths "100 greatest College Basketball Programs of All Time", based on NCAA tournament success, NIT success, national championships, conference regular-season and tournament titles, all-time win–loss percentage, graduation percentage, NCAA infractions, NBA first round draft picks, and mascot ferocity. In the 2006–07 season, the Cougars became nationally ranked for the first time since 1994 and won the Mountain West Conference regular season championship outright. The team's current head coach is Kevin Young, who was hired in 2024.

Women's basketball

The BYU women's basketball team represents the university in the Big 12 Conference and after the retirement of 21 year coach Jeff Judkins is now coached by Amber Whiting. The Cougars play their home games in the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. The team has made eight NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 30 years and has frequently been at the top of its conference.

Men's cross country

Cross country originated at BYU as an informal competition, technically classified as a long distance running event for the track and field team. Clarence Robison, an experienced collegiate and Olympic long distance runner, became the track and field coach in 1950. Robison's experience and interest in long distance running led to the growing popularity of cross country both in track and field and as its own sport. Competitions in cross country were often held jointly with the track and field team. In 1962, Sherald James was added on the track and field coaching staff with his primary responsibility being the cross country team. James helped cultivate the popularity of the program and cross country as an event in track and field.

Three BYU runners have won 4 individual cross country national championships; Ed Eyestone in 1985, Josh Rohatinsky in 2006, and Conner Mantz in 2020 and 2021. Eyestone has been the head men's cross country coach since 2000, replacing James.

In 2018, BYU finished second nationally. In 2019, BYU won its first national championship.

Women's cross country In 1973, BYU joined other universities to form the Intermountain Athletic Conference which allowed BYU's female athletes to compete in sports including cross country. In 1982, BYU joined the High Country Athletic Conference. The women's cross country team won championships in 1982 and 1983. The BYU women's cross-country team has won national championships in 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2002, led by coach Patrick Shane. Due to his success leading the team to four victories, Shane was named NCAA coach of the year.

Under the coaching of Diljeet Taylor, the BYU women's cross-country team has won 2 more national championships, coming in 2021 and 2024. In 2019, the BYU women's team finished in second place at the NCAA national championship. The Cougars' top three runners all had top 10 finishes as Courtney Wayment, Erika Birk, and Whittni Orton finished 5th, 6th, and 7th respectively.

Men's golf

BYU became involved in college golf slowly. Coach Fred Dixon led the golf team to a 1956 conference victory, but for most of the 1950s, golfers finished in third and fourth place. After Dave Crowton (previous assistant football coach and head baseball coach at BYU) became the coach of the golf team, the team placed fifth in 1960 and second in 1961. The golf program began to grow in 1962 under the direction of Karl Tucker. The teams placed fourth in 1963 and second in 1965. The golf team won their first Western Athletic Conference championship in 1966. The golf team won all seven tournaments against several other universities on its 1975 tour to Scotland, France, and England. The BYU men's golf team won the 1981 NCAA Championship. They have won 25 conference championships: 21 Western Athletic Conference (1966, 1968, 1970, 1972–77, 1980–84, 1986–87, 1990–92, 1995, 1999), two Mountain West Conference (2001, 2007) and three West Coast Conference (2014, 2017, 2023).

Women's golf The BYU women's golf team has had three Conference Coach of the Year winners, two Conference Freshmen of the year, and eight Individual Conference Champions. In 1983, Kelli Antolock won the USGA Women's Amateur Public Links Golf Championship. The women's golf team has won three West Coast Conference Championships in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

The team is currently coached by Carrie Roberts, who has been the head coach since 2010. Carrie also played golf for BYU as a student between 1998 and 2002.

Gymnastics Prior to 1958, gymnastics existed at BYU as an unsponsored sport, winning league victories as early as 1911. The BYU gymnastics program was officially established in 1958 by the BYU Athletics Department with Richard Andrus as the first head coach. During the beginnings of the program, scheduling was a significant problem. The closest university with a program was 600 miles away. Colleges who did have programs either had few open dates, or requested large amounts of money for travel expenses. Consequently, BYU traveled to Colorado and California only, and did not have home meets. During their first year, the team finished with three wins and two losses.

In 1959, Rudy Moe was named the next head coach. He coached the gymnastics team for six years. The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) was established halfway through his tenure as head coach. Moe trained several nationally ranked gymnasts and his teams finished second and third place (twice) in the conference during his last three years. Bruce Morgenegg was named the head coach in 1965 and the team placed second in the conference, only four points behind the University of Arizona. The team's best performing gymnast was Richard Nickolas who was to that point, the only BYU gymnast to win the WAC all-around title. Nickolas was also BYU's first gymnast to finish in the top ten in the NCAA all-around event. Following 1965, the team performed poorly; nevertheless, Dennis Ramsey tied for second place in the 1967-68 NCAA finals. BYU finished third in the conference the next two years. Ramsey finished second place again in the NCAA finals.

Dr. Lavon Johnson took over the head coaching responsibilities while Morgenegg took a leave of absence to pursue doctoral studies. Johnson had experience head coaching the gymnastics team at the University of Utah. He directed the team to a second-place finish in the WAC. The team won the championship at the Portland Open and sixth place in the Rocky Mountain Open, with a third-place finish in the conference. When Morgenegg resuming coaching between 1972 and 1975, the team's record was mediocre; however Wayne Young performed well individually. Despite the fact that many colleges and universities were cancelling their gymnastics programs, BYU's program continued to grow. The Physical Education department increased their budget for the gymnastics team. Consequently, BYU hired Greg Sano to replace Morgenegg. Sano was not a member of the LDS Church, but had tremendous international experience coaching.

BYU phased out their men's gymnastic program in 1999. As of 2019, there is only a female gymnastics team at BYU. The BYU gymnastics team has won five conference championships, two in the West Coast Conference and threw in the Mountain West Conference. In 2015, Guard Young (son of Wayne Young) and former All-American on the BYU gymnastics team, was named the head coach of the BYU gymnastics team. Before joining the Big 12 Conference in 2023, the gymnastics program was a member of the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference from 2013-2023.

Baseball

The BYU baseball team played its first game in 1895BYU Baseball FAQ The Official Site of BYU Athletics. Byucougars.com. Retrieved on July 17, 2013. and currently plays in the Larry H. Miller Field.

Softball

The BYU softball team rejoined the bulk of the school's teams in the WCC in July 2013, when the conference began sponsoring softball once Pacific rejoined after an absence of more than 40 years. BYU softball had returned to the Western Athletic Conference as part of the school's 2011 conference change, but played only one season in the WAC, moving to the Pacific Coast Softball Conference after the 2012 season and playing there for what proved to be the PCSC's final season in 2013.

Women's soccer

Since joining the NCAA in 1995, the women's soccer team has appeared in the NCAA tournament 24 times, reaching as far as the Elite Eight in 2003, 2012,Soccer falls 2–1 in NCAA quarterfinals The Official Site of BYU Athletics . Byucougars.com. Retrieved on July 17, 2013. 2019, 2021, and 2023.

Swimming