BYU football's 100th season celebration
By Hayden Borg
On October 7th, 1922, the Brigham Young University Cougars played their first collegiate football game. The game was played in Provo against Utah Agricultural College (now Utah State) and was a bloodbath. BYU fell 41-3 in their inaugural match. A little over a month later, the BYU football team earned their first victory against Wyoming. 100 football seasons later brings us to the 2024 season. Those 100 seasons were full of many unforgettable wins and heartbreaking losses, memorable players who made extraordinary plays. 100 seasons that include a Heisman trophy, a Doak Walker award, 4 Davy O'Brien Awards, 7 Sammy Baugh trophies, 2 Outland Trophies, 85 All-americans, 23 conference championships, and a National Championship. 100 seasons that led to bib jerseys, footlong maple donuts, living right on and off the field leading to magic, playing Bo Diddly Tech, the Miracle Bowl and Cotton Bowl, Harline still being open, a viral dancing mascot, and 4th and 18 conversions. It's only right that a program like BYU football be commemorated for 100 seasons. Here is what we know about the celebrations for the upcoming season. (Visit this site for more information regarding the 100th season)
BYU50
BYU50 will return again this year with fan events and gear drops happening in each US state. BYU50 will start on July 12 in Alabama and conclude in Wyoming on August 30. Social media, especially Twitter and Instagram, is typically the best place to receive updates on BYU50 drops.
Gameday Activities
Each home game this season will have special events and recognitions that will honor many of the most memorable players and teams from the past 100 seasons. On August 31st against Southern Illinois BYU's first bowl team will be recognized as they played in the Fiesta Bowl 50 years ago. On October 12 against Arizona BYU's national award winners (Heisman Trophy, Doak Walker Award etc.) will be honored. BYU's 1984 National Championship team will be recognized on October 18th against Oklahoma State in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Cougar's first national championship. On November 16th versus Kansas each BYU player inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame will be celebrated. The rest of the home games have not had festivities announced yet.
Best Moments Bracket
There has been a plethora of unforgettable moments in BYU football over the past 100 seasons. Fans will have a chance to cast their vote in a tournament of Best Football Moments. The bracket will feature iconic moments such as The Miracle Bowl, Lavell's last game, Beck to Harline, Mangum Miracles, HB Pass to Steve Young among others. This will be a fun chance for BYU fans to relive some of the best moments in BYU football history and show support for their favorites. Voting begins in mid-July.
Special TV Program
On July 27th BYUtv will air a special 2 hour program called BYU Football: A Celebration of 100 Seasons. Former players and coaches will participate as fans take a walk down memory lane and get an inside peek into BYU football.
New Uniforms
The BYU 100 website has hinted at new uniforms being released for the upcoming season but there are not details yet on what the uniforms will look like or when they will be released. A reasonable assumption would be some sort of throwback uniforms to commemorate the 100th season. Will there be just one new uniform or will we see a couple new looks for the Cougars? As long as we don't see a return of the "bib" jerseys I think this will be exciting.
These fun events plus others will build excitement for the upcoming football season. Hopefully the Cougs can channel some of the success of past seasons to excel this year. Given some of the cautious optimism that some media members are expressing about the team, there will be expectations for the 2024 team to outperform betting win totals of 4.5 games.
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