Cougarettes Return With Routine During Cincinnati-BYU Football Game
Sep 29, 2023, 9:37 PM
PROVO – Following some drama earlier in September, the Cougarettes returned to action with a routine performed during BYU‘s Big 12 Conference home opener against the Cincinnati Bearcats.
The Cougars hosted the Bearcats at LaVell Edwards Stadium (Capacity: 63,470) in Provo, Utah on Friday, September 29.
RELATED: How To Watch BYU Football Versus Cincinnati Bearcats
In between the first and second quarters of the contest, the Cougarettes took the field and performed a routine for the first time since BYU’s season-opening game against Sam Houston State.
#BYU’s Cougarettes are sooo back!#GoCougs pic.twitter.com/LK1LxI88iL
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 30, 2023
BYU’s game against Cincinnati is broadcast on ESPN, KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM & 1160 AM), and sports.ksl.com.
Tom Holmoe Responds To BYU Cougarettes Social Media Drama
In early September, BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe responded to a social media statement about the BYU Cougarettes and their upcoming performance at a football game being shut down.
Like most BYU football games, the Cougarettes were slated to perform during the home contest against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on Saturday, September 9, according to a former Cougar player.
A day before the game, former BYU fullback Houston Heimuli posted that the Cougarettes “can’t perform” in Week 2 of the college football season due to the music being used by the group. Heimuli is related to a member of the Cougarettes.
“Found out the cougarettes can’t perform their timeout numbers this weekend cuz a couple people complained about the music choice… Way to ruin it for the majority,” Heimuli posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I’ll take the blame on this one. Poor communication on my part for this week’s game entertainment. Cougarettes are amazing student-athletes and you’ll see ‘em performing again soon – better than ever,” Holmoe wrote in a quoted post on Heimuli’s original statement.
I’ll take the blame on this one. Poor communication on my part for this week’s game entertainment. Cougarettes 🤍 are amazing student athletes and you’ll see ‘em performing again soon – better than ever. https://t.co/Wngofz5lcZ
— Tom Holmoe (@TomHolmoe) September 8, 2023
During BYU football’s season-opening victory over the Sam Houston State Bearkats on September 2, the Cougarettes performed one of their routines to the song “Plain Jane” by A$AP Ferg. The version of “Plain Jane” was a clean and edited edition of the song.
Cosmo and the Cougarettes are Big 12 ready 🕺 💃 pic.twitter.com/6M4j2JoAU1
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 3, 2023
KSL Sports reached out to BYU for a comment on the situation and didn’t hear back.
BYU Cougarettes Tease Return Following Performance Music Drama
More than a week later, the Cougarettes teased their return on social media after some drama prevented the squad from performing at the last home game.
@shandonperez on Instagram posted rehearsal footage of the team collaborating with the official BYU Cougarettes account.
The teased routine is to a remix of Beyonce’s “Diva”. The caption of the post features the lyrics,”told you gimme a minute and I’ll be right back.”
The full caption reads, “BYUUUUUUUUUUUU, ‘told you gimme a minute and I’ll be right back’, and yes they are back at it again rehearsal footage from this past weekend, COUGS. time with you is food for the soul I crave. love you.”
Cincinnati vs. BYU
The Bearcats arrived in Utah with a 2-2 record on the season, including 0-1 in Big 12 games. BYU began the season 3-1 and 0-1 in conference play.
This season, the Bearcats opened their schedule with back-to-back wins over Eastern Kentucky and Pittsburgh. Cincinnati will arrive in Provo coming off consecutive losses to Miami (Ohio) and No. 16 Oklahoma.
Friday’s contest was Cincinnati’s second road trip to Provo in program history.
The Cougars and Bearcats had only played twice before. Before 2023, BYU owned a 2-0 lead in the all-time series.
The Cougars and Bearcats first played in 2015. BYU hosted Cincinnati in Provo and won the contest, 38-24. The teams played in a rematch the following season. In 2016, the Bearcats hosted the Cougars. BYU won the second meeting, 20-3.
Kyle Ireland is a Sports Producer and Locals in the NFL Insider for sports.ksl.com. He’s also co-host of the Yards After College Podcast. Follow him on X/Twitter (@kyleireland), Instagram (@kyleirelandksl), and Threads (@kyleirelandksl).
