Last year at this time, BYU was wrapping up one of the best years in the school’s athletic history, both on and off the field and court.
A welcome invitation to join the Big 12, a long-awaited victory over football rival Utah, a better-than-expected 10-3 in on the field that included six wins in Power Five conference teams, Zach Wilson’s climb to the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft and appearance in their national championship game’ The women’s soccer and men’s volleyball teams were notable in 2021.
It’s been quite a year for the Cougars.
What about 2022? How was this calendar year?
Well, the short answer is this: Neither does it.
To say that BYU athletics took a step back in the past 12 months would be an understatement—there have been many impressive individual and team performances at BYU—but the 2021 matchup was not. very simple.
That means picking the top 10 BYU sports stories in 2022 is more difficult than 2021, especially at No. 2021, maybe for a whole decade.
And there were some off-field stories, controversies that took place, that dominated the headlines almost as much as the good things the Cougars and their coaches accomplished.
In short, 2022 will go down as another important and successful year in BYU sports history, but 2021 set a high standard that may not be reached for another decade. year, especially as the Cougars head into the Big 12 in 2023 with a competitive streak. at the conference to grow across the board.
Here’s the Deseret News’ look at the 10 most exciting stories of the year for BYU sports.
1. BYU football gears up to enter Big 12, Sitake shuffles coaching staff
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake works on the backfield during the game against the Utah Tech Trailblazers at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, November 19, 2022. The season is BYU football 2022 was a mixed bag but ended on a high note with a bowl win. the Mustangs.
Football is king at BYU, so developing head coach Kalani Sitake’s 2022 program is at the top of our list. On the same subject : College Football Playoff expansion: Board agrees to 12-team field with goal of implementing as soon as possible. They started at the end of 2021, when Sitake signed an “unprecedented” new contract that required the school to spend more money on coaches and support staff to become Big 12-ready.
BYU made new appointments in March and then in May, moving three current employees to new roles, but heading into the end of the 2022 season, from which the most important changes. After seven-year defensive line coach Elais Tuiaki was fired midway through the season the Cougars went 4-3. and struggling on defense, Sitake released his defensive coach after the regular season in a 35-26 win over Stanford.
Special teams coordinator Ed Lamb left to take the head coaching job at Northern Colorado, and Sitake hired Weber State coach Jay Hill at a reported $1 million or more a year as the head coach. and coordinator will take BYU to the Big 12 in 2023. BYU player and assistant coach Kelly Poppinga was hired to replace Lamb as special teams coordinator and a defensive assistant coach.
“I believe in everything that BYU is doing,” Hill said. “The direction they’re going, the excitement of what we can continue to build, that kind of attracted me to this opportunity.”
Cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford, a key part of the BYU football team’s efforts, was suspended, but several other vacancies were left unfilled after the Cougars defeated SMU 24-23 in the New Mexico Bowl. the 17th of December.
2. BYU football goes 4-1 in September, tumbles in October with four straight losses
East Carolina Pirates Keaton Mitchell runs the ball against BYU on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, in Provo, Utah. This may interest you : 2022 College Football Kickoff: Fox Sports Boosts Home Run Production, On-Site Studio Footprint for Big Noon Kickoff. The Pirates won 27-24, leaving the Cougars 0-4 in October.
It’s a tale of three months, all with very different outcomes, for the BYU football team on the field in one of the most up-and-down seasons of Sitake’s seven-year tenure.
“This is a difficult year for our program (with) some changes and things like that,” said Sitake after winning the cup. “As for faith and love, these are all things that last. Even though we faced a bad situation – because everyone looks at the final results – when the difficulties came (we persevered), and I am proud of these guys.
BYU went 4-1 in September, including a dramatic double-overtime win over Baylor during that stretch, but fell the following week in a 41-20 loss to Oregon. . The Cougars rebounded with strong wins over Wyoming and Utah State, but Jaren Hall suffered a shoulder injury against the Aggies that will doom the Cougars in October. A less-than-healthy Hall played through pain, but it was clear he wasn’t himself and BYU’s defense wasn’t good either in losses to Notre Dame, Arkansas, Liberty and East Carolina.
Sitake took over defensive tackle duties after the loss to Arkansas, but did not return until November.
“Yeah, we’re excited to go to the Big 12. It’s going to be a lot of fun. … So, let’s go,” Sitake said in Albuquerque. “We have to work hard. We have to be a more physical team. And that goes during the season.
3. BYU football rights itself in November, wins final four games to build momentum for Big 12
BYU wide receiver Keanu Hill runs with the ball against Boise State Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Boise, Idaho. This may interest you : Jun 2022 Market Report: Hamptons Hampton Real Estate Works Hamptons While Prices Remain Historic Levels. BYU won 31-28, making it a four-game sweep.
After a 27-24 loss at home to East Carolina that dropped BYU’s record to 4-5 and put the hopes in jeopardy, the Cougars weighed down on the blue field of Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho. But somehow BYU was able to win 31-28, with star receiver Puka Nacua playing a role down the stretch for years, and it would never be the same again. the 2022.
Wins over Utah Tech, Stanford and SMU in the playoffs, their final collegiate games, put the Cougars at 8-5 for the year.
“These guys stuck together and worked on it and it just shows the unity that exists in this program and the belief that exists in our culture and our team,” said Sitake.
The way the Cougars defeated a top Mustangs team in the bowl game should be considered one of the strongest moments for BYU athletics in 2022, as the fourth string of Sol- Jay Maiava-Peters for the injured Hall, becoming the first Pacific player. to start a game at quarterback for BYU, leading the Cougars to victory.
And the worst defense played a key role as well, when linebacker Ben Bywater returned an interception 76 yards for a touchdown and nickel back Jakob Robinson made the save and eight. seconds left.
4. BYU fans, and opposing fans, draw national attention for all the wrong reasons
Oregon’s football team and fans attend the college football game against BYU at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022.
Some of the most read sports stories covering BYU, its fans and opponents in the Deseret News last year related to events on the stands or on the sidelines.
After the BYU women’s volleyball team defeated Duke 3-1 at Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on August 26, Duke volleyball player Rachel Richardson accused her of being the subject of insults throughout the game.
BYU responded by banning a fan from its campus who Richardson identified as using racial slurs. However, after a school investigation that included interviews with more than 50 people, including members of the Duke program, BYU reinstated the fan and said that found no evidence of any bias that night.
Four weeks later, video surfaced of Oregon fans leading a raucous chant at the BYU fan club during the Ducks’ win over the Cougars at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. The offensive song against members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints drew rebuke from Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who tweeted that “It’s alive and well in Oregon.” the selfishness of religion.”
Oregon officials apologized that night and the next day, calling the chants “disgusting” and saying “there is no place for hatred, bigotry or bigotry at the University of Oregon. These actions are totally unacceptable.”
Another Pac-12 school apologized to BYU fans in November, after the Stanford band performed a same-sex wedding as part of its halftime show. to mock the religious beliefs of BYU fans and the Latter Day Saints in attendance.
“The (band) is very sorry that this performance caused the disappointment of the audience, and the evaluation of the half time and the approval of the process has been adjusted to ensure that problems like this do not happen again. ,” Stanford athletics told BYU’s student newspaper, The Daily Universe.
5. Longtime BYU women’s basketball coach Jeff Judkins leads Cougars into NCAA Tournament, then steps down
BYU women’s basketball coach Jeff Judkins looks on during the 2022 WCC Women’s Basketball Tournament championship game loss to Gonzaga at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. the retired teacher announced the following month that he was resigning.
After leading BYU’s most successful women’s basketball program for 21 years, NBA player Jeff Judkins stepped down in April. Judkins’ overall record is 456-204 (.691 winning percentage), the most by a head coach in BYU basketball history, men’s or women’s.
“The program is in a good place and it’s a good time for me,” Judkins said. The former standout at the University of Utah took his teams to the NCAA Tournament 10 times and reached the Sweet 16 twice. He won five regular season conference championships and four postseason championships.
Judkins’ last team was one of his best, as the Cougars were ranked as high as No. 15 in the nation and earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. After falling to Gonzaga in the WCC championship game in Las Vegas, BYU was upset 61-57 by Villanova in the first round and finished the year with a 26-4 record.
Judkins’ replacement was somewhat of a surprise when BYU hired Burley (Idaho) High School coach Amber Whiting, a former BYU player, on May 18. when star guard Shaylee Gonzales entered the transfer window on June 2 and committed to Texas on July 11.
6. BYU men’s basketball posts another solid season, but fails to make Big Dance
BYU head basketball coach Mark Pope reacts as the Cougars play San Francisco in the 2022 Western Conference men’s basketball quarterfinals at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 5. , 2022. BYU lost 63-75.
Coach Mark Pope’s BYU men’s basketball team overcame several injuries and illnesses to post a 24-11 record in 2021-22, but failed to make the NCAA Tournament and was released by play in the NIT. A 75-63 upset loss to San Francisco in the WCC quarterfinals doomed the Cougars to the NIT, and they defeated Long Beach State 93-72 and Northern Iowa 90-71 before being eliminated at home by the Washington State when they won. aside from advancing to the NIT’s Final Four at Madison Square Garden.
The program was in the news again in April when assistant coach Chris Burgess left BYU to join Craig Smith’s staff at Utah. The Cougars got some revenge, however, defeating the Utes for the third time in mid-December at the Marriott Center.
Rudi Williams scored 26 points off the bench and BYU won 75-66 for its 16th win over Utah in the last 21 meetings.
7. BYU women’s volleyball continues winning ways, overcomes early season drama
Members of the BYU women’s volleyball team huddle during a game against Portland on Nov. 1, 2022, at Smith Fieldhouse in Provo.
The BYU women’s volleyball program made national news on Aug. 27, the day after Rider and Duke were defeated in the doTerra Classic in Provo, when the BYU players accused Blue Devils Rachel Richardson BYU fans booed her during a game in August. 26.
One of the consequences of the allegations, which BYU later reported as unfounded, was that BYU officials removed the student section of Smith Fieldhouse from where the players serve.
Meanwhile, the Cougars of coach Heather Olmstead had a tough time in early September against some of the top programs in the country, then caught up and won nine games.
The Cougars went 15-3 in WCC play, trailing only national semifinalist San Diego, and finished 22-7 overall. BYU defeated James Madison in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling 3-0 to No. 2 Pittsburgh in the second round. The Panthers, like San Diego, reached the semifinals, meaning four of BYU’s seven losses came against teams that made the Final Four, Pitt and San Diego.
BYU was ranked No. 18 in the final AVCA poll.
8. BYU women’s soccer stuns Stanford in NCAAs, pushes North Carolina in Sweet 16
The fans of the BYU women’s soccer team are excited when they coach their opponent in the first round of the NCAA soccer championship. The Cougars advanced to the Sweet 16 before falling to perennial power North Carolina at home.
A year after reaching the NCAA College Cup Finals (a 0-0 loss to Florida State in penalty kicks (4-3), BYU faced a rebuilding season but it was successful in 2022.
The Cougars made noise again in the NCAA Tournament, beating UVU 3-0 to avenge a regular season loss and shocking Stanford in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in the second round.
BYU pushed perennial power North Carolina to the limit at home on Nov. 19 before falling 3-2 in a Sweet 16 game.
“We’ve had a great season and we’ve come a long way,” coach Jennifer Rockwood said after the game. “We were up against a very good, very talented team in North Carolina and I think we gave them everything they could handle.”
North Carolina fell 3-2 to UCLA in the 2022 College Cup championship game.
9. Ten-year BYU baseball coach Mike Littlewood abruptly resigns midseason
BYU head coach Mike Littlewood, right, talks with an Arizona coach during a game in 2016. The longtime head coach abruptly resigned during the 2022 season and was replaced by Trent Pratt.
In what came as a surprise on April 11, BYU announced that 10-year head baseball coach Mike Littlewood has resigned, citing “personal reasons.” No other information has been released for the mid-season resignation of the popular coach and former standout player at BYU.
The Cougars are 17-12 overall, 6-6 in the West Coast Conference, and are coming off a three-game sweep of Provo. Littlewood declined to discuss his reasons for leaving when contacted by the Deseret News last April.
He led BYU to conference titles in 2016, 2017 and 2019 and was the WCC Coach of the Year in 2019.
Trent Pratt was named interim head coach after Littlewood resigned and led BYU to a 16-9 record while at the helm (10-6 in WCC play). On June 8, Pratt was named BYU’s head baseball coach and appears to be the captain who will lead the Cougars into the toughest Big 12 baseball race in 2023.
10. BYU drops from No. 1 to No. 29 in final Directors’ Cup standings after disappointing 2021-22 school year finish
Fans in the student section hold up a BYU flag during a football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. The Cougars hosted East Carolina on Friday night, hoping to get back on track.
Thanks to the aforementioned high standards in 2021, BYU was ranked 1st in the country in terms of the Learfield Directors’ Cup after the fall sports season.
Despite strong showings in indoor and outdoor track and field and men’s and women’s track and field in the spring of 2022, the Cougars fell to 29 in the annual scale that awards points based on each school’s placement in the NCAA championships.
Still, the Cougars remained the top college athletic program in the state of Utah, holding that spot since the award’s inception in 1993. Utah was ranked 44th, while the State of Judah.
BYU women’s golf finished second at the WCC championships and qualified for the NCAA Regional in Franklin, Tennessee, where it placed seventh. BYU men’s golf placed third at the NCAA Regional in Stockton, California, earning a berth in the NCAA Finals.
The Cougars finished 21st in that event in Scottsdale, Arizona, with Cole Ponich finishing BYU’s highest T55.
Has any city won all 3 major championships?
Los Angeles is the only city to have three teams win the championship in the same year – with the Lakers, Sparks and Galaxy winning the crown in 2002.
Which city has all 4 major sports? New York and Los Angeles are the only major cities with two or more teams in all four major sports (New York has MLB’s Yankees and Mets, the NBA’s Knicks and Nets, the NFL’s Giants and Jets, and NHL’s Rangers, Islanders, and Devils.
When was the last time a city won 3 championships?
12, 1969, the New York Jets beat the Baltimore Colts in the 3rd Superbowl, the New York Mets beat the Baltimore Orioles in five games in the 1969 World Series and the New York Knicks in 1969â70 won the Los Angeles Lakers. in seven games in the NBA Finals from April 24-May 8 1970.
Has any city won all major sports championships?
Boston is the only city to win a championship in all four games by defeating a team from the same city. Chicago and Philadelphia played each other in the World Series, the Stanley Cup Finals, the NBA Finals, and the first Super Bowl NFL championship game.
Why is BYU called the Cougars?
In 1923, Brigham Young University chose the cougar as its mascot. Eugene L. Roberts, a coach and one of the coaches, recommended the cougar because it was originally from Utah and showed the qualities he expected players to have to compete for Brigham Young University.
Was BYU still the Cougars? All teams are named “Cougars”, a name first coined by Eugene L. Roberts in the 1920s, first applied to football teams. In 1924, BYU brought live cougar kittens named Cleo and Tarbo and used them as its mascots.
How did Cosmo the Cougar get his name?
The name Cosmo comes from the word “cosmopolitan” and was chosen because BYU was recently designated as a Cosmopolitan school. Cosmo quickly became popular, and since Gallego many people have been Cosmo, including BYU president Ernest L. Wilkinson, who once wore the uniform to a party.
What college team is the Cougars?
The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the athletic teams representing Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I.
Does BYU have a curfew?
BYU’s curfew is part of the BYU Honor Code and requires students to vacate mixed-sex residence halls between midnight and 1:30 a.m. on Friday nights.
Does the BYU Honor Code have a mandate? They must leave TVA during curfew hours, which are 12 a.m., Saturday through Thursday, and 2 a.m. on Friday night. Spouses of students living at TVA are required to know and adhere to the BYUâHawaii Honor Code and Dress and Grooming.
Does BYU have strict rules?
Obey the law and follow campus policies. Avoid alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee, vaping, and the use of drugs. Regularly attend Church meetings (only members of the Church are required). Monitoring Brigham Young University’s Dress and Grooming Standards.
Can you wear legging at BYU?
Any other fashion or body piercing is not acceptable. Leggings can be worn under knee-length clothing for casual wear. Leggings alone are not acceptable for classroom or public areas of campus including the classroom, test center, cafeteria, or library.
Can non Mormons drink coffee at BYU?
BYU is a private university owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members have pledged not to use alcohol, tobacco, coffee, or tea.
Can non-Mormons attend BYU? It is no secret that BYU attracts members of the Church, but it is also a home for students of other faiths and religions such as Roman Catholicism, Islam, Greek Orthodox and agnostic.
Is Coke allowed at BYU?
More than three years have passed since BYU Dining Services announced that it would officially sell caffeinated beverages on campus. The announcement was met with mixed reviews – many students welcomed the change and quickly bought drinks, while others thought the law should remain in place.
Why can’t you drink coffee at BYU?
The church’s teachings come from a health guide called the “Word of Wisdom,” which comes from teachings that discourage Mormons from consuming addictive substances or “hot drinks, ” which the church interpreted as tea and coffee.
What are you not allowed to do at BYU?
Avoid alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee, vaping, and the use of drugs. Regularly attend Church meetings (only members of the Church are required). Monitoring Brigham Young University’s Dress and Grooming Standards. Encourage others in their commitment to comply with the Code.
