Goodbye, June, Hello, July — and the big time for BYU
Nothing good happens after midnight is an idea propagated by parents throughout the ages — and for the most part, they’ve been right. However, when the clock strikes 12 and turns Friday into Saturday, something very good is going to happen to BYU.
For the first time in school history, the athletic program will be receiving status among the elites as a Power Five conference member and will officially be accepted into the Big 12. The dream that motivated BYU to leave the Mountain West Conference and spend 12 years navigating as a football independent will finally be realized.
Saying goodbye to June and hello to July for BYU is the equivalent of exchanging a hamburger for a steak. It’s the difference between a firecracker and a Stadium of Fire. In some cases, it’s as game-changing as replacing a paper airplane with an F-35.
Goodbye to June also means goodbye to belittlement by the Cougars rival to the north. Understandably, Utah has relished in its P5 fortunes since 2011 and used it as a no-brainer recruiting tool against BYU.
Perhaps most painful to Cougar faithful has been the booster boastings at their expense. Initially, BYU fans could counter the Utes with references to past glories, including their 1984 national championship, Ty Detmer’s Heisman Trophy, or Luke Staley’s Doak Walker Award — even the 26-17 victory in 2021. But in the end, the obvious always won out — P5 membership trumps independence in just about every way.
Goodbye to June also means goodbye to a September season. As an independent, most of BYU’s marquee matchups were in September where a single defeat often left the Cougars with little to play for the rest of the way.
BYU finished independence with a 30-23 record in games played before October. The requirement for near perfect Septembers just to make headway in the national polls was only met three times — 2014 (4-0), 2020 (2-0) and 2021 (4-0).
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Goodbye to June also means goodbye to bowl scraps. As an independent not named Notre Dame, the Cougars were relegated to the back of the buffet line, where they watched conference affiliations eat up every big bowl in sight.
BYU’s plight as an independent was most noticeable in 2020 when the Cougars scheduled a game on three days’ notice at No. 14 Coastal Carolina. Despite their 9-0 record and No. 8 national ranking, BYU added the early December game out of necessity to boost its schedule strength and solidify its case for a New Year’s Six Bowl.
The Cougars’ hopes were dashed when Dax Milne was tackled on the 1-yard line as time expired in a 22-17 defeat. As a result, BYU was relegated to the lowly Boca Raton Bowl, where Zach Wilson and company routed Central Florida 49-23 to cap an 11-1 season.
Saying hello to July turns all of June’s goodbyes into new beginnings and extraordinary challenges.
Hello to July means hello to membership in the Big 12 Conference — a league where Texas and Oklahoma are the headliners, but also where Kansas State won last year’s Big 12 football championship and TCU played Georgia for the College Football Playoff national title.
Hello to July means hello to an unprecedented schedule. For the first time in school history, BYU will face 10 P5 opponents and possibly 11 if they qualify for the postseason. After home openers against Sam Houston and Southern Utah, the Cougars play out of conference at Arkansas before starting a nine-game run through the Big 12.
Hello to July means hello to some old friends. As members of the Big 12, BYU will reunite with former Mountain West foe TCU. It will also tangle with Texas, where the Cougars hold a 4-1 record, including back-to-back Taysom Hill-led blowouts in 2013 and 2014.
BYU will meet back up with Oklahoma for the first time since the Cougars stunned the No. 3 Sooners 14-13 in 2009 in Dallas. They also join a league with Kansas State, the team BYU defeated 19-15 in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 1997 — the Cougars only appearance in a New Year’s Day bowl game.
Hello to July means hello to having more to play for with bigger bowl games and better matchups. As a member of the Big 12, BYU will have affiliated access to the College Football Playoff, New Year’s Six, Alamo Bowl (vs. Pac-12), Pop-Tarts Bowl (vs. ACC), Texas Bowl (vs. SEC), Liberty Bowl (vs. SEC), Guaranteed Rate Bowl (vs. Big Ten) and the Independence Bowl (vs. Pac-12).
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Hello to July also means hello to big money. Each school in the current conference made a record $44 million last year. BYU and the three additions, Houston, Cincinnati, and Central Florida are each expected to receive as much as $19 million over the next two years, with the number to jump to as high as $50 million annually when the new television deal that starts in the fall of 2025 — close to five times what ESPN paid BYU each year during independence.
Hello to July also means hello to some hard knocks. Most college football pundits predict a five- or six-win season for BYU as they make the transition to a stronger brand of football. Without question, independence helped BYU gain inclusion into the Big 12 and that also means exclusion can no longer be an excuse.
To get ready, the Cougars rebuilt their defensive staff and signed 20 players from the transfer portal to bolster depth at nearly every position. They are waiting for this fairy tale to become a reality.
In the case of Cinderella, her carriage to the ball turned into a pumpkin at midnight. For BYU, when the clock strikes 12, their independence buggy becomes a Porsche — with fresh tires and a full tank of gas.
The open road ahead could get rough, but it’s the Cougars’ only path to the party where college football’s glass slippers are handed out at the door.
The countdown is in its final week. Some of the great patented phrases in sports await that final bell ringing from the Centennial Carillon Tower that will welcome the beginning of a new day — “Start your engines!” “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!” “It’s Showtime!” and “Just Do It!”
For BYU, the symbolic second that Saturday arrives will change the program forever and even alter how parents teach their kids — because something good will have finally happened after midnight.
