BYU Football Honors 40th Anniversary Of 1984 National Championship Team
Oct 18, 2024, 8:24 PM
BYU Football recognized the 1984 National Championship team before Friday's game against Oklahoma State. (Courtesy of BYU Photo)
(Courtesy of BYU Photo)
PROVO, Utah — BYU football paid tribute to one of the greatest teams in program history on Friday night.
The National Champion 1984 squad was honored during BYU’s Big 12 clash against Oklahoma State.
This season marks the 40th anniversary of BYU’s improbable run to No. 1. BYU is also celebrating its 100th season on the gridiron.
BYU football honors the 1984 National Championship team
During every home game this season, BYU has recognized memorable players and teams to celebrate the century mark.
More than 50 members of the 1984 team were in attendance at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Friday night. They were recognized in pregame to conduct the ceremonial lighting of “the Y.”
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Some of the notable players from that 1984 team who were in attendance included Robbie Bosco, Leon White, Kelly Smith, and others.
They were given Nike royal blue BYU hoodies with white sleeves that featured a patch on the right sleeve that said “84.”
Some of the players from that 1984 team signed “National Championship” posters for BYU fans along Cougar Canyon.
Later in pregame, during a drone show, a message in the Provo sky read, “1984 National Champions.”
BYU in 1984 was a one-of-a-kind team
BYU’s 1984 National Championship team is the last champion from outside a major conference. At the time, BYU played in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
BYU won the National Championship during the poll era, when pollsters from the media and coaches controlled who would be No. 1. After the 1984 season, BYU was a consensus number-one ranked team in the major polls.
Entering Friday night’s BYU/Oklahoma State game, ESPN.com ran a feature on the 1984 BYU team, highlighting that they were truly one of the best teams that season.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly, who created the SP+ ratings, forecasted that if there had been a 12-team College Football Playoff in 1984, BYU would have had the second-best odds to win the title, with a probability of 16.6%. The only team with better title odds was Nebraska, at 23.4%.
#BYU’s 1984 National Championship team was signing autographs for fans.#BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/UWhL6nnjzS
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 19, 2024
Quarterback Robbie Bosco led BYU in 1984. The defense was among the best in program history, with stars Leon White, Kurt Gouveia, and the late Kyle Morrell.
An underdog squad that went on to win the title
What’s interesting about BYU’s 1984 squad is they entered that season with low expectations. The previous year, 1983, was viewed as the best BYU of all-time with College Football Hall of Famers Steve Young and Gordon Hudson, but they were gone due to graduation.
BYU wasn’t picked to win the WAC entering the 1984 season. However, everything changed when BYU knocked off No. 3 Pitt in front of the first-ever live ESPN College Football broadcast. They soared in the rankings to No. 13.
Then they remained perfect after that, climbing to No. 1.
Could this be a similar path for the 2024 edition of BYU football?
Like 1984, BYU entered this season with low expectations, being picked 13th in the media’s preseason Big 12 poll.
There wasn’t a 12-team Playoff or selection committee to put together intriguing bowl matchups back then. The WAC champion went to the Holiday Bowl, no matter what.
BYU nearly lined up Tennessee for the 1984 Holiday Bowl; however, that fell through.
The 12-0 Cougars were paired with 6-5 Michigan out of the Big Ten in the 1984 Holiday Bowl.
BYU defeated the Wolverines in San Diego during the pre-Christmas bowl game. Two weeks later, BYU ranked No. 1 in the polls, giving the football program its first-ever National Championship.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
