BYU/Utah Rivalry Was Significant Addition For Big 12 Conference
Nov 6, 2024, 6:41 PM | Updated: Nov 7, 2024, 10:14 am
PROVO, Utah – The BYU/Utah rivalry has been slept on for many years. Unfortunately, due to the late-night 8:15 p.m. (MST) kickoff, many around the country will probably sleep on it again.
However, over time, this heated rivalry has the potential to be a special game for the Big 12 Conference.
The two programs are in the same league again for the first time since the 2010 season. That’s when they were in the Mountain West Conference together.
When Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark sensed an opportunity in the summer of 2023 to bring in the “Four Corner” programs (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah) from the Pac-12 to the Big 12, he knew it would mean a return of the BYU/Utah rivalry.
Realignment has caused so much change in the college sports landscape. But the drastic change did reunite these historic rivals, who can’t even agree on when they began playing the game.
BYU cites 1922 as the first game, their first year playing football under the Brigham Young University name. Utah points to 1896 as the first meeting when BYU was BYA (Brigham Young Academy).
Brett Yormark on BYU/Utah in the Big 12: “It’s huge”
“It’s huge,” Yormark told KSL Sports at Big 12 Media Day in July.
“Even before we went to realignment and as we aspired to be a national conference, we talked about the possibilities. So many people said that the BYU-Utah rivalry could be fantastic in your conference. And these were just really casual fans. So I’m excited that it’s part of the league.”
“There are great rivalries from top to bottom in this conference…but at the top is Utah and BYU.” –@Big12Conference commissioner Brett Yormark#KSLBig12 #Big12 #GoCougs #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/Ggb8DHGOVk
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 10, 2024
Along with BYU/Utah, the Big 12 boasts Kansas/Kansas State, Baylor/TCU, and Arizona/Arizona State, among others, but it’s hard to compete with the intensity of the battle in the Beehive State.
“But at the top is Utah and BYU,” Yormark said.
It’s a league that needs as many marquee games in the post-Texas and Oklahoma world, with 16 teams.
BYU/Utah can emerge as one of the great games in the conference annually.
Saturday will be the 96th meeting between the in-state foes, but the first, where both teams are power conference teams.
It’s the start of a new era for a historic rivalry.
No. 9 BYU at Utah
Date: Saturday, November 9, 2024
Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. (MST)
TV: ESPN
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM – BYU broadcast)
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.
