BYU didn't take long to prove its value as a member of a power conference like the Big 12. In fact, it hasn't needed to prove itself in either of the two major sports -- football and men's basketball -- since the first season of its membership. Put simply, that athletic department of a private school in Provo, Utah, has produced winning teams regularly.
Year after year, BYU has proved to be a valuable institution to the Big 12, and only builds momentum with every passing season.
But it's outside of the student-athletes where BYU has proved to deliver the greatest value to its conference home. You'll have to look further than the coaches, the administrators, or even the athletic department to find BYU's greatest asset.
Their greatest asset is in you: the fans.
In a recent post to BYU football's social media outlets, they shared that Cougar Nation is number one in the Big 12 Conference when it comes to fan attendance. LaVell Edwards Stadium is packed to the top row on a weekly basis during the fall -- often well beyond capacity -- and it's no surprise that BYU leads its league in football attendance.
Simply put, Cougar Nation shows up. That's what makes BYU such a special addition to the landscape of college athletics as a whole. With an average attendance of 63,780, you won't find a fuller house.
Cougar Nation is NUMBER ONE 🤙 pic.twitter.com/GncIreQPW2
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) April 18, 2026
LaVell Edwards Stadium is the biggest stadium in the entire conference -- that makes sense -- ahead of Iowa State and Texas Tech, which both boast capacities above the 60,000 mark. Notably so, the former Cougar Stadium's capacity is also much greater than rival Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium, which can hold only 51,444.
Similar can be said of the Marriott Center, which doesn't have the largest capacity in the Big 12, but according to college basketball experts, is the premier destination for college basketball in the nation's strongest conference.
So yes, BYU athletics brings it on the field, court, track, or what have you, but their contribution is simply unmatched when it comes to the support of its national fanbase.
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