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No big announcements from Media Day, but a few nuggets

By Shaun Gordon

PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 1: BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe announces that BYU football will become independent in football in 2011 separating from the Mountain West Conference, September 1, 2010 in Provo, Utah. The remaining BYU sports will become affiliated with the West Coast Conference in 2011. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 1: BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe announces that BYU football will become independent in football in 2011 separating from the Mountain West Conference, September 1, 2010 in Provo, Utah. The remaining BYU sports will become affiliated with the West Coast Conference in 2011. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) /
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While there weren’t any major announcements made at BYU Football Media Day, a few pieces of news and updates should keep Cougar fans excited for the future.

Today’s BYU Football Media Day was short on big announcements, unlike other years.

During previous media days, the Cougars have announced future schedules, jersey retirements, and the extension of BYU’s contract with ESPN.

This year, the focus of the State of the Program show revolved around the new faces on the offensive coaching staff, as well as highlighting the new mentality and changes that the Cougars have made to right the ship after a disastrous 2017 season.

While no big announcements came, there were still a few nuggets of news and updates for BYU fans to look forward to:

Stadium Connectivity

The biggest announcement that Athletic Director Tom Holmoe made during the State of the Program is a new Wi-Fi and DAS system that will run throughout LaVell Edwards Stadium, starting this fall.

This will boost the gameday experience for Cougar fans in the stadium. With 60,000+ fans packed into one place, cellular service was horrible at times. With the new system, it should improve that drastically, giving fans much better access.

Along with that, Holmoe said that BYU will be releasing a gameday app, geared toward fans at the game. It’ll show up-to-date stats, highlights, and more.

ESPN Talks

BYU’s broadcast deal with ESPN runs through 2019, which means it’s time to start negotiating a possible extension.

According to Holmoe, the two sides will begin formal negotiations this year. However, informal talks have been going on already, and Holmoe seemed optimistic that a deal will be reached.

Notre Dame Series

When BYU announced independence in 2011, they also announced a six-game series with Notre Dame, four in South Bend and two in Provo.

The two teams faced off twice, in 2012 and 2013, with both games played at Notre Dame.

Then Notre Dame joined the ACC in all other sports and entered a schedule agreement with that conference for football. Since then, those four other games still haven’t been played.

A lot of BYU fans expect the Irish to buy their way out of the contract, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. According to Holmoe, the two teams are still discussing a way to finish out the contract.

As Holmoe put it:

“What we have working out right now will be better than a check.”

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