The Honor Code holds BYU football back, and that’s okay
By Adam Gibby
Although BYU football – and other teams on campus – are by no means limited to LDS players, the university’s Honor Code plays a significant role in athletics.
Last Saturday, BYU football was defeated by LSU 27-0.
Fans are upset and frustrated that the Cougars were not able to at least make the game competitive.
The reality of the situation is that as fans we should feel lucky that BYU is considered by many as a Power Five school. Especially because the school performs well while having the Honor Code.
Most schools that have honor codes are small, religious universities. You never really hear of these schools because they don’t really do much in the sports world.
Most athletes prefer to go somewhere where they don’t have to feel afraid of getting suspended if they break an honor code rule that is not even against the law.
After all, as a human race we tend to feel more comfortable with more freedoms, not less. For this reason, most of these schools with honor codes do not even have athletic programs. The ones that do, tend to compete in conferences with other religious schools. They almost never compete nationally.
BYU is the exception.
BYU is the only school in the nation, that has a strict honor code and is still successful in sports at the Division-I level. Other schools have honor codes, however none of them are nearly as strict.
At BYU, student athletes can’t drink, smoke, have premarital sex and they have to receive a ecclesiastical endorsement. There are other rules to the honor code, however those will probably not get you suspended for a season.
So imagine you are a four start recruit and you have offers from BYU football and a lot of other schools that do not have an honor code. Naturally, unless you are looking for a school with an honor code you are going to go somewhere else.
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By no means does that make a player a bad kid. The implication isn’t that non-LDS athletes have questionable character. It’s just tough to sell rules to a recruit, when those rules aren’t a reflection of the laws of the country.
In order for BYU football or basketball to draw good non-LDS athletes to their program, there needs to be something new or original.
LaVell Edwards was able to make BYU football a QB factory. In return, great receivers wanted to play in Provo, too. Being a part of BYU football became worth the Honor Code rules. A unique opportunity for success was something BYU provided.
Luckily for BYU football, there’s a culture change happening. One that Kalani Sitake started.
Kalani Sitake brings something unique to Provo. As the first Tongan head coach in the FBS, he’s working to flip the “Poly Pipeline.”
We’ve only seen one full year of Sitake recruiting, so more players will come. Sooner rather than later, BYU football fans will begin to reap the rewards.
One could argue that deleting the Honor Code would lead to more success for BYU. But for me, I’d rather have my school uphold its values.
Even if that means falling a little short athletically.