Five Interesting Facts About BYU

Whether you’re in Provo for the game or doing the backyard BBQ and watching the game at home, it never hurts to know a few facts about the opponent so you can have something to talk about during the commercials. Here are five interesting facts you may not have know about BYU.

5. Mascot = Cougar

No not the type of Cougar that picks up 22 year olds at seedy bars, the kind that mauls mountain bike riders and tears them to a pulp. BYU originally had two live cougar kittens, Cleo and Tarbo, as school mascots in 1924. The kittens were chosen after David Rust, a BYU alumnus, captured a mother cougar and her three kittens in 1923.  Cosmo the Cougar has been the school’s mascot since 1953.

 

 

4.  They’re an Old Team

NCAA rules give a player five years of eligibility from the first time they play in a game, and one of those years is a red-shirt year. [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] So for players like 32 year old Nate Boyer, that clock didn’t start until he donned the burnt orange for the first time in 2010. For BYU players, who often take a two-year mission trip as part of their religious faith, that clock freezes while they are on their mission trip, and this results in a team that includes many players that are older than the average college player. Whether or not this really provides an advantage still remains up for debate. And apparently with only 25 signees per year it can get complicated. (One more article on the Missionary )

 

3. BYU Sometimes Known As QBU

Many a great pigskin flinger has walked these halls. The greats include: 1990 Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, Gifford Nielsen, Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon and Steve Young.

 

 

2. Getting High in Provo

 LaVell Edwards Stadium sits at 4630 feet above sea level.  Altitude could play a factor, but that’s one reason the Longhorns have stressed that they want to be two-deep at every position, and they feel they have the fitness level to overcome a little thin air. Coach Brown also said that the only the only time the Horns have run into trouble playing at altitude came at Wyoming, which has the highest stadium in the country at 7215 feet above sea level. The Texas players also trained with special mask that prevent oxygen flow over the summer. (Few have seen these special masks, but we’re guessing they look something like this.)

 

 

1. Hear the Samoan Thunder

Thanks in large part to the large Mormon missionary presence in the southern pacific islands, BYU has a large contingent of players with Polynesian heritage (two players hale from Hawaii and one from Samoa). These guys are big, burly, and liable to squash somebody. They also have hard to pronounce names. Craig Way has his work cut out for him in Utah. Just give Jherremya Leuta-Douyere a try.

 

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