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PROVO — What a year it’s been in Provo.
From the up-down-sideways third season of head football coach Kalani Sitake to a Final Four run in women’s volleyball and a program-record national runner-up finish in arguably BYU’s most successful sport, Cougar fans have been through a lot in the past year.
So take a break as the clock counts down on New Year’s Eve, relax with a mug of hot cocoa, and take a look back at 2018.
A Final Four run ----------------
The best team on BYU’s campus didn’t play in the iconic LaVell Edwards Stadium or the Marriott Center.
It was located just down the road in the old-style, 5,000-seat Smith Fieldhouse.
BYU women’s volleyball spent 11-straight weeks as the No. 1-ranked team in the country, finishing the regular season with a 27-1 record that was eligible for a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament.
That gave the Cougars — who were led by seniors Roni Jones-Perry, Lyndie Haddock-Eppich, national freshman of the year Heather Gneiting and national coach of the year Heather Olmstead — a potential home-court advantage up to the NCAA’s national semifinals in Minneapolis.
And boy, did they use it.
BYU lost just one set in four home postseason matches, using the unique atmosphere to its advantage en route to a meeting with college volleyball blue bloods Stanford, Nebraska and Illinois in the Midwest.
The Cougars' run ended with a 3-0 loss to the top-seeded Cardinal in the semifinals. But the season will be long-remembered at BYU for its No. 1 ranking, its 17-0 record at home, and its six All-Americans — the most in program history.
Zach Wilson, unleashed ----------------------
Barely one year ago, Zach Wilson stood in his living room basement at his home near Corner Canyon High School and faced a decision. On the table in front of him were hats from BYU, Boise State, Cal and Oregon State. He faced the monumental decision of picking where he would play college football.
He put on the BYU hat, surprising several friends — and even his father Mike, who played on the defensive line at rival Utah in 1993-94.
But the decision is paying off for young Zachary, who enrolled early at BYU, ascended to the backup quarterback spot behind senior Tanner Mangum by the end of fall camp, and had his first collegiate start in a 49-23 win over Hawaii after the coaches made a quarterback change in October.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Wilson finished his freshman season with 1,578 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and three interceptions, and ran for 221 yards and two more scores. His inaugural season culminated when he went 18-of-18 for 317 yards and four touchdowns in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, helping the Cougars to a 7-6 record a year after a disastrous 4-9 campaign of 2017.
Did you hear about Wisconsin? -----------------------------
Tanner Mangum’s contributions in his senior season should not be overlooked.
The senior signal caller saw his BYU career play out in reverse, starting all but one game as a freshman and helping the Cougars to a 9-4 record and a Las Vegas Bowl berth.
By the time he was a senior, Mangum — who sat behind Taysom Hill as a sophomore and missed about half of the 2018 season with injuries — had reclaimed his starting spot, and had the Cougars out to a 3-1 start that included a victory at then-No. 6 Wisconsin (the highlight of BYU’s season, and BYU’s best win after the Badgers’ 35-3 win over Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl gave them an 8-5 season).
After back-to-back losses to Washington and Utah State, coaches made the change to Wilson — and the rest is history.
But through it all, Mangum never publicly mentioned a negative word. A consummate professional, Mangum proved to be an adequate quarterback at BYU, but an elite teammate both on and off the field.
Perhaps it’s fitting that his final offensive series resulted in a highlight-reel pass to Dylan Collie that was ruled down at the 1-yard line, followed by a fullback dive to Brayden El-Bakri that resulted in the Cougars’ 49-18 win in Boise, just a few miles away from Mangum’s hometown of Eagle, Idaho.
Mangum finished his BYU career completing 60 percent of his passes for 6,262 yards and 39 touchdowns.
And he will always have Wisconsin.
BYU cross-country places 2nd at national meet ---------------------------------------------
It was a good year all-around when BYU athletes traveled to Madison, Wisconsin.
Not only did the Cougar football team upset the Badgers, but the BYU men’s and women’s cross-country team finished with the best combined finish at the NCAA national meet in school history.
Connor Mantz, Rory Linkletter and Connor McMillan all finished in the Top 25 to lead the BYU men to a second-place finish at nationals, tying the 1993 squad for the best finish in program history.
In the women’s meet, Erica Birk-Jarvis placed seventh overall to lead the Cougars to a seventh-place finish in Madison. It’s the first time both the men’s and women’s cross-country teams have placed in the top-seven nationally in the same season.
Nick Emery's plight
It was a year ago that former Lone Peak star Nick Emery left BYU after allegations of improper benefits and under the shroud of an NCAA investigation.
Emery, who claimed "personal reasons" for his departure that included a divorce from his ex-wife Sara, returned to the Cougar back court this year. But the NCAA handed down several heavy-handed investigations against the shooter and his program, starting with a nine-game suspension to start the 2018-19 season.
The other penalty was big. BYU was required to vacate all wins in which Emery played during his two seasons at BYU, a total that could reach as high as 47. BYU has appealed the decision, which also included a $5,000 fine, a two-year probation, and the loss of a scholarship.
It's the largest penalty handed down by the NCAA to a BYU athletic program in school history, and was almost universally decried by college basketball pundits and national media. The Cougars' appeal likely won't wrap up until well into the new year, either; the NCAA has a small matter to deal with in the form of a national bribery scandal that has enveloped the association.
Honorable mention
The biggest change that BYU football fans will notice in 2019 is in the broadcast booth, where longtime color analyst Marc Lyons has stepped away from his 38-year career with KSL Newsradio and BYU Radio.
The move follows the tragic death of Paul James, the longtime "Voice of the Cougars" for KSL TV and KSL Newsradio who retired in 2001. James was respected by his colleagues at KSL, beloved by BYU fans nationwide, and a legend in the broadcast medium.
After departing as a sports broadcaster, James enjoyed life to the fullest, as a painter and regular fan of opera and other theater.
