Kalani Sitake Reportedly Intends To Stay With BYU Football Program
Dec 2, 2025, 2:43 PM
BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake lands a new extension to stay with the Cougars. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – Kalani Sitake is staying with the BYU football program.
Sitake has “begun to inform people that he intends to stay at the school,” according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Sources: BYU coach Kalani Sitake has begun to inform people that he intends to stay at the school. BYU is in the process of putting together a lucrative contract to keep him. He's been one of main targets at Penn State, which he informed of his decision today. pic.twitter.com/S76gHey7Ag
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 2, 2025
This report comes on the heels of the Penn State Nittany Lions making Sitake a top priority in their coaching search.
Sitake has an 83-44 record as BYU’s head coach since taking over at his alma mater in 2016.
Since the 16-team Big 12 was established in 2024, Sitake has emerged as the Big 12’s winningest coach, going 22-3. In 2025, Sitake coached a BYU team that had to replace its starting quarterback in the summer with a true freshman. BYU was better this season, finishing with an 11-1 record and clinching a berth in the Big 12 Championship Game this Saturday in Arlington, Texas, against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
The move creates a situation where Sitake can look to build on recent success and turn BYU into an annual winner in the Big 12.
Throughout the 2025 season and his tenure in Provo, BYU football players rave about the program’s culture, centered on “love and learn” and “stay humble, stay hungry.”
When Sitake took over as BYU’s head coach 10 years ago, he stated that he grew up a BYU fan. There are few in the college football coaching profession who connect with the fans of the program they lead like Sitake.
Since BYU received an official invitation to join the Big 12 Conference in September of 2021, this deal marks the third extension Sitake has received.
In December of 2021, Sitake landed what was called a “new, unprecedented contract” that locked him in through the 2027 season. Then, last year, in December 2024, Sitake landed what BYU called a “long-term extension” without disclosing its length.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com 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.
