Forgive the ROC student section if it got carried away during the Cougars’ 26–17 football victory over the Utah Utes on Sept. 11. After nine straight rivalry losses spanning 12 years, the boisterous crowd was determined to do its part to help turn the tide.
The outcome was just one more thing for Cougar Nation to cheer about. Only one day earlier BYU realized a goal that had been elusive for decades—acceptance into a major athletic conference. The Cougars, it was announced, will join the Big 12 in the 2023–24 season.
That news “is huge, but it’s not a resting point for us,” athletic director Tom A. Holmoe (BS ’83, MS ’95) asserted at the press conference. ”This is just a new beginning with opportunities for bigger and better things to keep coming for BYU Athletics.”
