Inside BYU football's Big 12 rise, from hotel pitches to campfire tales to CFP contention

• BYU craved entry into a power conference for decades. Now in the Cougars' second year in the Big 12, who can deny that the Cougars belong?
• Kalani Sitake lives his dream as the ninth-year coach of BYU, his alma mater that he grew up cheering for during the LaVell Edwards glory days.
• BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff inspires 'competitive edge,' while Cougars win with complementary football.

Inside a Dallas hotel, Brigham Young athletic director Tom Holmoe, football coach Kalani Sitake and others from the Cougars’ delegation pitched their case to the Big 12 for a much-desired invitation.

The year was 2016. The Big 12 sought proposals from multiple schools while evaluating expansion. BYU had yearned for entry into a power conference for decades, with no luck.

This time felt different. The pitch went well.

“Quite frankly, when we walked out of there, I thought we had done a great job,” Holmoe told USA TODAY Sports. “I thought, ‘If they’re taking a team, we’re in.’”

Perhaps, BYU would have been in, if the Big 12 had taken a team. The Big 12 passed on expansion.

The Cougars became briefly crestfallen, but their mood rebounded. 

Holmoe sensed the Cougars were close. Keep pushing, and their day would come.

“We got together and said, 'Let’s just keep going,'” Holmoe said. “We came out of there stronger than when we went into that presentation. I think that was a turning point in BYU athletics.”

BYU’s has moment finally arrived.

Now, in its second Big 12 season, No. 9 BYU (8-0) enjoys pole positioning to represent the Big 12 in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.

The Cougars, who will play rival Utah on Saturday, join Indiana as college football’s biggest surprises.

The media picked BYU to finish 13th in the Big 12. Joke’s on us.

Forty years after BYU won its only national championship in program history, the Cougars could claim a bye into the CFP’s quarterfinals – so long as they keep winning inside the conference that awarded BYU an invitation, five years after that initial pitch in Dallas.

“We’re all excited to keep turning heads,” senior defensive lineman Blake Mangelson said.

They’re turning heads by playing complementary football, backed by what players describe as a deep-rooted program culture, fostered by a coach who loves BYU as much as any fan.

“This team feels like a family,” Mangelson said.

Kalani Sitake revives past tradition to deepen BYU’s bond

BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill came to Sitake before the season with an idea: How about a team trip into the great outdoors?

The Cougars went camping earlier in Sitake's tenure, but they hadn't gone the past few years. Sitake embraced Hill's suggestion, and so, for two nights in August, BYU’s players and coaches camped in Provo Canyon.

Inside crowded cabins that housed small twin beds, BYU's veterans got to know younger players and transfers. Bonds strengthened, while sleep proved elusive.

“The cool thing about it is, there’s no service,” Sitake said, “and when there’s no service, no one is looking at phones. They’re actually interacting and talking to each other. I saw our guys just enjoy each other’s company.”

The Cougars spent a day at the lake, enjoyed meals together, sat around campfires and swapped stories before piling into cabins at night.

“We had a blast,” Mangelson said. “I made so many good connections.”

The only downside: Cabin twin beds aren’t made for tall, beefy linemen.

“It wasn’t the most comfortable experience,” said Brayden Keim, BYU’s 6-foot-9, 315-pound offensive tackle, “but it was a good team bonding experience.”

The strongest bonds often emerge from navigating uncomfortable situations together.

Sitake operates from a “love and learn” leadership style. That traces to Sitake playing as a BYU fullback for LaVell Edwards, BYU’s respected coach of 29 years who inspired Sitake’s career.

The Cougars needed some love, and they had much to learn, after last year’s 5-7 debut in the Big 12.

BYU played a grab bag of Power Five opponents throughout 12 seasons as a football independent, but its schedule eased later in the season, when Power Five teams were knee-deep in conference play.

BYU lost five consecutive games to conclude last season. It failed to qualify for a bowl game for the first time since 2017, Sitake’s second season.

Did that 5-7 record emanate from BYU adjusting to being in a conference?

“I think it had a lot to do with it,” Sitake acknowledged, “and I don’t mind looking at the past, because I think there’s a lot to learn from it.”

Sitake wouldn't describe BYU's debut as a misfire. He offers a more nuanced narrative. He highlights the five victories, including two within the Big 12, references close losses, and reframes the 2023 season as a premier opportunity to “love and learn.” 

“There’s always opportunities to learn,” Sitake said, “whether you’re winning or losing, and when you learn you get better. I’ve been focused on that the entire time.”

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Kalani Sitake: 'Since I was born, I loved BYU.'

Inside Sitake, lives a Cougar’s spirit.

Coaching BYU rates as his dream job, but how close did he come to the alarm going off?

Last year marked just the sixth losing season for BYU since Edwards became coach in 1972.

BYU's stumble out of the Big 12's gates served a dose of fan angst. A preseason CBS Sports article positioned Sitake near the hot seat.

Holmoe, BYU’s AD who played for the Cougars, monitors the pulse of the fan base, as well as media perceptions.

For his part, Holmoe says outside perception did not match reality.

“At no time was he on the hot seat,” Holmoe said.

Would Holmoe have predicted this 8-0 start? Probably not, but he anticipated the Cougars would rebound.

What about Sitake? Did he feel any heat?

“I don’t really function on fear,” Sitake said. “I love doing what I do. I’m all about appreciation for the opportunities.”

Sitake won’t begrudge fans for their opinions or emotions. He gets it, because he’s a BYU fan, too. He has been for as long as he can remember.

Born in Tonga, Sitake’s family immigrated to Hawaii. He became a BYU fan living on Oahu’s North Shore, and his childhood coincided with the Cougars’ glory days.

He was 9 years old when BYU went 13-0, won the Holiday Bowl and got crowned national champs under Edwards, the coach for whom Sitake would later play, a man he calls “a legend.”

“Since I was born, I loved BYU,” Sitake said. “I was in Hawaii growing up. There were people in my neighborhood, in the North Shore and Laie that played for BYU. I wanted to be just like them.”

No two teams are alike, and no one should directly compare this era of college football to that which occurred four decades ago.

But, this BYU team, like the undefeated 1984 squad led by quarterback Robbie Bosco, a third-place Heisman finisher, succeeds on both sides of the ball.

The Cougars are among 11 teams that rank in the top 25 nationally in scoring offense and scoring defense, and they, too, have an exciting quarterback. Jake Retzlaff wears a Star of David necklace, and he maintains the unique distinction as the Jewish quarterback thriving at this flagship university of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Retzlaff personifies BYU’s improvement. He struggled last season after taking the reins of the offense throughout a winless November. Now, he’s among the Big 12’s top-rated quarterbacks, but his teammates tout more than his stats.

Keim says Retzlaff inspires BYU’s “competitive edge,” and Mangelson credits him as “a passionate leader.”

“I just love the guy,” Mangelson said.

BYU positioned for a CFP berth, despite committee’s snub

If Sitake ever fell out of BYU fans' good graces, he ought to have earned his way back. This season could go down as the best of his nine-year tenure.

Sitake’s past peak occurred in BYU’s final years as an independent.

The Cougars totaled 21 victories across the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In each season, the Cougars would have narrowly missed at-large selection to a 12-team playoff, if it had existed.

Entry into the Big 12 unlocked another avenue to the playoff.

The CFP committee showed the Cougars little love in their first rankings, released Tuesday. They’re the lowest-ranked team among four Power 4 unbeaten teams, even though BYU touts a strength of schedule superior to No. 8 Indiana. Five one-loss teams rank ahead of BYU.

None of that will matter if BYU keeps winning.

Win the Big 12, and the Cougars would be in the bracket as probably no worse than the No. 4 seed.

That’s the beauty of competing in a conference like the Big 12, within this playoff structure.

“This is a dream come true for us,” Sitake said. “I’m happy for our players, and I’m really happy for our BYU fans. They get to (connect) with all these other amazing fan bases that are in the Big 12. It’s pretty cool.”

How BYU joined the Big 12

BYU’s interest in joining a power conference predated Sitake's playing career, when the Cougars competed in the Western Athletic Conference and later the Mountain West.

BYU officials, throughout the mid-1990s, engaged in conversations with the Southwest Conference, the Big Eight and later the Big 12, according to published media reports from that timeframe.

No dice.

BYU left the Mountain West and went independent in football in 2011 and began competing in the West Coast Conference in other sports. BYU gave the WCC transparency about its intentions: If the Cougars received an invitation from a power conference, they probably would accept.

BYU had discussions with the Pac-10 and later the Pac-12, but, as Holmoe recalls it, that conference was always “kind of lukewarm” with its interest in BYU.

“We were looking for every opportunity,” Holmoe said.

The Big 12, in contrast to the Pac-12, felt like a tangible destination.

After BYU’s 2016 pitch in Dallas, Holmoe could almost feel an invitation at his fingertips.

Years passed, before news broke in 2021 that Texas and Oklahoma would bolt the Big 12 for the SEC, kick-starting the realignment carousel.

Holmoe sensed opportunity.

Now, finally, BYU could have its turn.

“It was like the writing was on the wall,” Holmoe said.

After all that waiting, who now can deny BYU belongs.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all of his columns.