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PROVO — Kalani Sitake was hired at an ideal time for BYU football and its fans. The new head coach assumed his position leading the Cougars after a 35-28 loss in the Las Vegas Bowl to their rivals at the University of Utah.
Having been a former defensive coordinator at Utah, and a potential future replacement for Utes coach Kyle Whittingham, announcing Sitake’s new role with the program took some of the wind out of Utah’s victorious sails.
Sitake built momentum at BYU by harkening back to the school’s glory days on the football field, reigniting the spirit built by legendary head coach LaVell Edwards, by hiring some of BYU’s biggest former names. Bringing back former players like Ty Detmer, Ben Cahoon, Mike Empey, Jernaro Gilford and Reno Mahe, Sitake has capitalized on the nostalgia of BYU’s best football years, something that was decidedly missing under former head coach Bronco Mendenhall.
The momentum didn’t end there.
Sitake welcomed back legend-in-the-making Taysom Hill to don the BYU jersey for one final season, as well as running back Jamaal Williams, who appears to have an NFL future. BYU fans are excited, as was evident from the 18,000 plus fans in attendance at the team’s annual Blue and White Game to conclude spring football.
But there’s a bigger picture.
As closely as they follow their team, BYU fans are also monitoring the rumors swirling around the Big 12 Conference and possible expansion, which would vault BYU out of independence and into a major conference. Inclusion in the Big 12 would boost BYU’s financial and national profile, making it easier to compete on the football field and bringing the school’s mission statement to the forefront of college football.
Within the Big 12, David Boren, the president of Oklahoma, one of the conference's bellwether schools, has openly campaigned for conference expansion and has alluded to a potential vote as early as this summer.
For BYU, that could be advantageous.
The Cougars haven’t won fewer than eight games in any of the previous five seasons. They haven’t missed a bowl game since 2004. In the previous three seasons, the Cougars have twice beaten Texas, the face of the Big 12, in dominating fashion. Over the previous two seasons, BYU has a 5-3 record against teams also hoping for an invitation to the Big 12, having knocked off Connecticut twice while defeating Cincinnati, Boise State and Houston once each.
If the Big 12 decides to put off expansion, opting to acquire more data before making such a major financial decision, the honeymoon period for Kalani Sitake may end quickly at BYU, with a premium being placed on results, rather than momentum.
When BYU opted to turn independent rather than stay in the Mountain West Conference, the school and its fans dreamed of schedules like the one laid out before them in 2016. The Cougars face six Power 5 conference opponents in the first seven weeks of the season. BYU’s group of five opponents include Boise State, Cincinnati, Utah State and Toledo.
While the Cougars appear to have one of their more talented rosters in recent history, the Cougars struggled last season against the better opponents on their schedule, going 1-4 against Power 5 opponents.
If BYU finds itself auditioning for the Big 12 beyond this summer, it will likely have to improve upon that winning percentage against the top teams on its schedule and avoid any letdowns against group of five opponents to remain as a top contender for potential conference expansion.
While BYU’s strong schedule may seem like an advantage in expansion, it will struggle to compete with the type of positive exposure a team like Houston received last season when it finished the season with a 13-1 record, beating up on mostly inferior competition and getting an invite to a New Year's Six bowl game, where it beat national powerhouse Florida State.
If former head coach Bronco Mendenhall’s warnings are to be believed, that independence may not be sustainable beyond a few more seasons, Big 12 expansion is crucial to the future of BYU if it wishes to remain relevant nationally in college football. And if the Cougars find themselves continuing to have to audition for one of the few expanding spots, Kalani Sitake’s honeymoon in Provo may be short-lived, as results on the field will be at a premium.
Ben Anderson is the co-host of Gunther and Ben in the Afternoon with Kyle Gunther on 1320 KFAN from 3-7, Monday through Friday. Read Ben's Utah Jazz blog at 1320kfan.com, and follow him on Twitter @BenKFAN.
