Kalani Sitake is a BYU man, through and through.
Learning under the watchful eye of program legend and namesake of the program's home stadium, LaVell Edwards, Sitake was a fullback during his college days in Provo. After bouncing around the college football coaching sphere, from EAC to SUU to BYU to Utah to Oregon State, Sitake found his way back home to Provo, assuming the same position as the legendary Edwards, and left to make his own stamp on the BYU football program as its head coach.
After winning 23 games through his last two seasons in the Big 12 Conference and winning three straight contests against rival Utah, Sitake has created a lasting legacy with the program that he calls home.
But one fateful night in late 2025, his dream position was nearly in jeopardy when the Penn State Nittany Lions came calling to fill the vacancy left by James Franklin's firing midway through the year.
For a minute there, Sitake to State College seemed like a done deal.
But in a desperate attempt to keep the face of BYU football home in Provo, donors and fans of every degree pitched in their voices to share what Kalani means to BYU football. He had built a Big 12 power under the shadow of Mount Timpanogos, and done it while leading with Christlike love and personal interest in every player, staff member, and fan who came across his path.
In a sense, Sitake had become synonymous with the program he led for the last nine seasons.
Fans were not prepared to let go. Be it the deep pockets of Crumbl cookies, the increased pay for his staff, or the kind words of the community that considered Sitake to be family, Kalani leaned from Penn State back to BYU, and told his players that he wouldn't be going anywhere, signing an extension to stay put.
Months later, Sitake spoke with On3 on his decision to stay home.
"It got real quickly after people started to find out about it. The decision-making process had to happen almost overnight. Looking at what Penn State was doing and what they were trying to offer, I had to decide what I wanted and what I considered compensation for me, and what I was chasing.”
NEW: BYU head coach Kalani Sitake to @PeteNakos on his decision to turn down Penn State and stay in Provo:
— On3 (@On3) May 16, 2026
“It got real quickly after people started to find out about it. The decision-making process had to happen almost overnight. Looking at what Penn State was doing and what… pic.twitter.com/qBrZofJIfJ
With his Cougars knocking on the door of the College Football Playoff, but never breaking through the door, it's alluring to jump over to a program whose brand value alone could push the Big Ten program through the door to take a shot at the national championship. His decision to stay in Provo is a vote of confidence in the foundation he's built, the success he's seen, and the growth still to come.
How great of a promotion for BYU athletics was it to have its head coach of men's basketball, Mark Pope, get hired at Kentucky, one of college basketball's premier destinations? How much greater, then, must it be that Penn State sent everything they had at BYU's football head coach, Kalani Sitake, and Sitake said no?
In hindsight, BYU fans everywhere can agree on one point: retaining Kalani Sitake was the most significant victory the program earned in the entire 2025 season.
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