BYU’s football team will now play nonconference games against Southern Illinois, Utah and Wyoming in its second season in the Big 12.
The Cougars on Tuesday announced that they will host FCS Southern Illinois on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. The Salukis will replace Nevada on the 2024 slate for BYU.
BYU was already scheduled to play at Utah on Sept. 7, 2024, and at Wyoming on Sept. 14, 2024.
Adding Southern Illinois as a home game in 2024 seems to indicate that the Cougars will have four conference home games in 2023 and five in 2024 to keep the home-road balance at six games apiece in their first two years in the Big 12.
Southern Illinois announced Tuesday that BYU will pay the school $425,000 for the visit.
The Salukis were originally scheduled to play at Kansas in the 2024 opener, but the Jayhawks announced recently they have replaced SIU with Lindenwood.
In conjunction with the Southern Illinois announcement, BYU noted Tuesday that its game against Utah Tech, originally scheduled to be played on Nov. 16, 2024, will be moved to Sept. 5, 2026.
The Cougars and Trailblazers will meet for the first time on Nov. 19, 2022.
Southern Illinois is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and made the FCS Playoffs each of the past two seasons. The Salukis made it to the Round of Eight in spring 2021 and Round of 16 last fall.
BYU was originally scheduled to play Nevada in its 2024 opener, but it became apparent last week that that game was going to be canceled when the Wolf Pack agreed to a series with Troy.