The curious timing of BYU extending head football coach Kalani Sitake’s contract late on a Saturday was weird. It came at the end of a day of college football conference title games. But it was necessary to squeeze it in.

It was a big week, a big football day, and only fitting that BYU took care of their football custodian smack dab in the middle of it all.

The move by BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe came hours after Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham announced he was returning to lead the Utes next season. It came after the announcement of USU’s hire of Bronco Mendenhall as head coach.

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The USU announcement also came with details that Mendenhall would receive $2 million a year and an increased package for his assistant coaches. Whittingham’s salary in 2024 was $6.5 million for a five-win season.

It made sense that BYU extended Sitake, whose team won twice as many games as his friend and rival. Whittingham, Sitake and Holmoe share some of the same legal and financial adviser connections.

But, BYU’s need to extend and lock up Sitake for a longer period of time may have been pushed by the need to strike a deal that would help him retain members of his current coaching staff. Many of them have received interest the past two weeks, especially with the shuffling of Utah’s offensive staff and the USU coaching search.

Although a high-ranking BYU official explained that the university’s administration has been working on a new contract for Sitake for some time — the time was right to get it done and signal to his top assistants that they would be taken care of.

In his Monday press conference, when asked about his extension, the first thing out of Sitake’s mouth was his desire to take care of his assistants and support staff.

That BYU will receive a full share of Big 12 membership money in months to come gives the university resources it did not have this past year. It’s a given that NIL support and additional resources are part of this deal.

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Sitake is sitting on a resume that includes three 10-win seasons, giving him a trio of the school’s historic 14. His culture, his support of the school’s mission and the loyalty of his current coaches and players in producing the current 10-2 record begs for a pat on the back as he tries to retain players and coaches and collect a few portal players

Yes, timing was important.

It had to be done over the weekend.

With Mendenhall’s hire and details, with Whittingham coming back to collect his bounty, with Kevin Young receiving a landbreaking deal, it was time BYU football received its due. Details were not disclosed except that it was a long-term lockup of Sitake.

Current senior captain, offensive center Connor Pay, said extending Sitake was a no-brainer.

“He deserves it for sure. He’s deserved it for a long time. I’m glad they finally got it done,” said Pay. “I don’t think there is a better man to lead BYU than Kalani. All you have to do is spend a few minutes with him and you can tell he resonates with everything that BYU represents. As a player I got to be around that leadership for the last four and a half years and got a representation of the kind of man I want to be someday, leading our team.

“It’s easy to have the desires to do the right thing when you have a leader like that,” he continued. “He’s turned down a lot of money and a lot of other opportunities to stay here because he loves this school and he loves us as players and I think it’s finally, hopefully, and obviously we don’t know all the details but I hope the school is rewarding him for his loyalty.

“Everything he’s done for the program — three 10-win seasons in five years — there’s a very short list of coaches who have done that in the country. I promise you he’s the lowest-paid one. I’m glad they got it done and I hope he’s here for decades more.”

Senior defensive end and captain Tyler Batty echoed Pay’s sentiments about Sitake.

“I think each successful season I’ve had at BYU is just an example of Kalani and how he pours his heart and soul into this program,” said Batty. “He’s moving it in the right direction. I’m super excited about his extension, that’s huge. I know that anybody who has played for coach Kalani will be super excited for him because they know how he operates. The future is in good hands because of Kalani.”

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By his nature, Sitake is not given to put himself out front or make his successes a personal campaign for credit or adulation. The reverse is true. He puts his staff and players up front and gives them credit and it is almost certain that whatever money will come his way, his priority is to see that his assistants and support staff are taken care of.

On Monday, he spoke of an assurance by the university that there will be even more support in months and years to come to advance BYU football.

If you wonder why his team — ranked far lower than Big 12 opponents in recruit rankings — rose up and defeated seven of nine this season, overachieved in a sense, it is because his players fought for him and believed in him.

As a native Tongan, born in humble circumstances in the tiny port city of Nuku’alofa on the island of Tongatapu, it doesn’t take much for Sitake to be happy and satisfied.

It is more important for him to be respected, so he can advance the careers of those around him.

I personally have walked the streets of Nuka’lofa. I’ve felt and sensed what is buried in the strands of his native genes and what resonates with those born of his humble roots. I have known his father, Tom, since we were teens at Liahona High, 7 miles from the capital city.

For Kalani, it isn’t what’s in the basket, but the fact that the basket was extended and there was love behind it.

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That’s a gesture he understands. It means approval, appreciation and validation for what he’s stood and worked for.

Those overtures are everything to a Tongan, to love and be loved.

It appears BYU gave him that respect in this extension, this basket.

The timing couldn’t have been better.

BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake and Utah Utes football head coach Kyle Whittingham talk before a game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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