Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, UConn. What do these schools have in common? They’re what we as fans consider to be “basketball schools”. These schools have historically great basketball programs–great enough that they’re too focused on boosting their basketball teams that football becomes an afterthought despite being the highest revenue-attracting sport in the NCAA. And with a flood of positive momentum behind BYU basketball, the question has to be asked: is BYU becoming a basketball school?
Maybe we’re being a bit short-sighted. Recency bias has likely impacted many fans’ feelings towards the state of BYU athletics, and recently, basketball has been drawing the most eyes with coaching hires, player commitments, and unprecedented resources being funneled into the program.
The recent coaching carousel sparked by John Calipari’s relocation to Arkansas caused ripple effects throughout the landscape of college hoops, which was to be expected. BYU becoming the most exciting basketball story of the offseason, however, was not on my bingo card.
NBA coach Kevin Young filled the vacuum left by Mark Pope leaving for Lexington, and he quickly rebuilt BYU into a contender for landing the nation’s top talent. For reference, Young has only been with the team for a month and a half, and the program is better than stable–it’s thriving.
Meanwhile, on the gridiron, BYU football has underwhelmed since the historic 2020 season which saw BYU crack the AP Top 10. In their most recent season–which happened to be their first season in the Big 12–the Cougars failed to reach 6 wins for bowl eligibility, falling to 5-7 on the season. The prevailing sentiment surrounding the football team is not one of optimism.
A quarterback battle between Jake Retzlaff and Gerry Bohanon hasn’t inspired much hope from fans, either, as Retzlaff underwhelmed in his first season with the Cougars, and Bohanon has bounced around college football, much like Kedon Slovis last season. While the coaches insist that the battle is due to both quarterbacks playing well in team practices, fans feel a bit uneasy about the future of football.
With the hiring of Coach Young, his excellent coaching staff, and NIL payments toward players, resource allocation is at an all-time high for the basketball program. Reportedly millions of dollars from boosters have gone toward Young’s salary, international star Egor Demin’s NIL deals, and more within the basketball program, with no mention of a similar commitment toward football.
Athletic director, Tom Holmoe’s shoulder angel is certainly insisting that BYU matches their basketball resources for the football program, but it’s certainly easier to give and give to a basketball program that has done nothing but deliver positive momentum for the athletic department.
Of course, BYU isn’t on the level of the blue-bloods I listed at the opening of this article, nor do I realistically expect them to reach those great heights. Despite what Young has promised fans, nothing is certain until we see the product on the floor.
Online discussions about BYU’s priorities are warranted, but to call BYU a basketball school before the first tip-off of the Kevin Young era is a bit premature. Calling BYU a football school seems silly at this point, and concerns circling the football team are significant. You don’t need to hire a fortune teller to know that BYU basketball’s future is bright and the current state of football is bleak, but could that all change with a similar commitment to Kalani Sitake’s program?
With unprecedented monetary support backing the basketball program, we’ve seen BYU hoops become a legitimate consideration for the nation’s top talent. Could football share a similar trajectory if they receive a comparable dedication from the athletic department?
Though it may not seem this way to fans, basketball and football operate in very different ways, with football being a must costlier investment on average. Could it be that basketball is able to receive this level of resources because BYU doesn’t have enough money to pour into making the football team a legitimate national power?
The Cougars are going all-in on the basketball team, but to call BYU a “basketball school” at this point is a bit premature. We can’t say with complete certainty that basketball is thriving and football is dying until we see the product in action, but I won’t pretend that I’m not excited about what the basketball team is cooking up.