BYU athletic department restructured; Brian Santiago no longer oversees football
Aug 27, 2026, 3:59 PM | Updated: 5:02 pm
PROVO – BYU athletics director Brian Santiago will no longer oversee the BYU football program as part of an organizational adjustment within the athletic department.
Instead, BYU Advancement Vice President Keith Vorkink will oversee BYU football. The Deseret News first reported the story.
Santiago, who was announced as BYU’s AD in May of 2025, will oversee the remaining programs in the athletic department, but not football.
This move comes more than a week away from the BYU football season opener against Utah Tech on September 5.
Brigham Young University spokesperson Audrey Perry Martin issued a statement on Thursday regarding the organizational changes.
“Today’s organizational adjustments reflect BYU’s commitment to invest in our student-athletes and strengthen our world-class programs. Brian Santiago remains BYU’s athletic director. We will continue adapting to the changing landscape of college athletics in a way that aligns with the university’s mission.”
Report: BYU AD Brian Santiago no longer overseeing BYU football
Last month, at a golf media classic, Kalani Sitake said in a radio interview with Cougar Sports Media, “We’ve been given the challenge of doing the most with the least.”
A sign that frustrations were building up from the 11th-year head coach, despite signing a long-term contract extension after getting close to taking a head coach position with the Penn State Nittany Lions this past December.
More than a week after those “most with the least” comments initially flew under the radar, rumors swirled on social media and fan message boards about Brian Santiago’s job status.
The rumors were loud enough from fans online that BYU athletics spokesperson Jon McBride issued a statement on the popular fan message board CougarBoard to dispel them, saying Santiago was still the AD.
Santiago has faced criticisms for being a “basketball guy” since being hired to replace Tom Holmoe, who ran the athletic department for 20 years.
A former basketball player at Fresno State University, Santiago has been closely tied to BYU basketball since his return to his hometown of Provo in 1997.
When he was hired as athletic director in May 2025, Santiago was asked how he would handle an athletic department long viewed as a “football school.” Santiago said, “Football drives the ship.”
Resources for BYU football have been a hot topic for the past month
Earlier this month, when asked about resources that he has in his program entering a highly anticipated football season, Sitake said, “I’m gonna let my agent handle all of that stuff. I’m going to focus on this year’s team.”
He continued by shifting the focus to his players and BYU fans, “As long as I’m the head coach here at BYU, I’m going to always fight like crazy to get this place to be a premier program. I feel like the players deserve that, the coaching staff deserves it, and most importantly, Cougar Nation deserves it. That’s what I’m going to do.”
When asked again at the end of fall camp earlier this week if everything had been resolved on the resources front, Sitake quickly said, “Yeah, I’m focused on the season. I’m not worried about the other stuff. As I said, I’ll let the other stuff take care of itself, but I’m gonna focus on the team.”
While conversations about resources took place in the background of BYU football fall camp. BYU Athletics hired a new Deputy Athletic Director, a position once held by Santiago, in Marc Hill from the University of Kentucky.
Hill’s first day in the athletic department was earlier this month, on August 16. He was at BYU football practice last Friday, August 21, with Brian Santiago.
Hill is a former football player at Iowa Wesleyan College and a football advisor at the University of Kentucky. It’s unclear what Hill’s role will be in this reported shakeup. At the time of his hiring, BYU announced that Santiago hired Hill and that his responsibilities would be to “oversee various administrative and operational efforts within BYU Athletics.”
Despite questions about resources, BYU athletics has thrived as a member of the Big 12 Conference, particularly in revenue-generating sports.
Brian Santiago’s first year in the BYU Athletic Department as AD featured the Cougars being the highest-rated athletic department among Big 12 schools in the Learfield Cup national standings at No. 25. BYU football finished last year with a 12-2 record and a Big 12 Championship Game appearance.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSL and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
