BYU Cougars Football

While football actually began at Brigham Young University in the 1890s, the sport was banned at all LDS schools following the accidental death of a football player in 1900 in Utah. And so it was not until 1922 that the BYU Cougars kicked off their existence as a college football team properly. The team rose to prominence in the 1970s and 80s, recording a remarkable eleven conference titles in twelve seasons, along with a single national title (1984), and four Holiday Bowl victories. The Cougars’ dominance of the Mountain West Conference continued all the way up into the early 2000s. In 2011, however, frustrated by a lack of TV coverage of their conference, along with rivals the University of Utah leaving for the Pac-12, the team decided to play as an Independent. This continued until 2023, when the Cougars joined the Big 12 Conference. Visitors to a Cougars home game will love the spectacular views that LaVell Edwards Stadium offers of the mountains that surround Provo, as well as the warm atmosphere of white and blue clad fans filling the stadium to sing “The Cougar Song” throughout the game. Keep an eye out for Cosmo the Cougar on the sidelines and for the sound of the long-lived and much-traveled Victory Bell if the Cougars win.

BYU Cougars Rivalries

The BYU Cougars have two main football rivalries, both with other local Utah schools. Their rivalry with the Utah Utes (of the University of Utah) is known, amusingly, as “The Holy War” (due to them both being LDS schools) and that with the Utah State Aggies is “The Battle for the Old Wagon Wheel.” The best team in Utah would then be awarded a trophy known as the Beehive Boot. Unfortunately these rivalries have not been contested in recent years due to the teams switching conferences and other disruptions.

Finding BYU Cougars Football Tickets

Despite being the fourth largest city in Utah, Provo is still a pretty small place at just a little over 115,000. But don’t let this fool you; football is very popular here and getting tickets to see the Cougars play at home can be tricky to say the least, especially when it comes to decisive games, rivalry matchups (see above), and Bowl games. Trust TicketX when you need to find affordable BYU Cougars tickets to the biggest games at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Our handy stadium seating chart is the easiest method for comparing various seating options (price/location).