When the kickoff times for four of BYU’s 12 regular-season football games in 2025 were announced last month, head coach Kalani Sitake wasn’t among those complaining about the late starts.
Neither was new BYU athletic director Brian Santiago.
In fact, the men spoke enthusiastically about the late-May news, mainly because three of those four games will be televised nationally by ESPN.
“I like them all,” Sitake said. “Just get me a Coke and a Cougar Tail and I will be just fine.”
A Cougar Tail is a 16-inch long, frosting-topped pastry that has become the signature concession item at BYU sporting events.
“We are OK with them (starting times) because we have the best TV partners in the game,” Santiago said.
“I am really thankful that we have those new teams in our conference, one of them being Utah. And having the short distance going to Colorado, and Arizona, and playing Arizona State.”
— BYU coach Kalani Sitake
On May 29, the Big 12 announced 40 TV selections across linear and streaming platforms for games involving teams in that league.
Among the 40 announced were four BYU games — two nonconference games against Portland State and Stanford and two conference games against Colorado and West Virginia.
“We know (late kickoffs) are part of the college football landscape now,” Sitake said. “We just gotta get used to it.”
The Cougars’ season opener at LaVell Edwards Stadium is Aug. 30 against PSU, an FCS team, and will kick off at 6 p.m. MDT on ESPN+. The following week’s game, Sept. 6, is against Stanford and kicks off at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN.
BYU’s Big 12 opener at Colorado on Sept. 27, a rematch of the 2024 Alamo Bowl won 36-14 by BYU, also has an 8:15 p.m. MDT kickoff. The fourth announced TV game is Friday, Oct. 3 against West Virginia on ESPN at 8:30 p.m.
That game will be played before General Conference weekend for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Sitake said the Cougars are ready for anything, thanks partially to things they learned as an independent traveling all over the country for games with various kickoff times.
“Working with our sports science group, and our strength and conditioning group, has been the key,” he said. “So it is not going to be a perfect science, but I think we can get it pretty close to where we can get our guys performing at their best, and we can take advantage of the time we are (assigned), where the byes fall, and all that.
“Some of the kickoff times we may not know until the week before,” he continued. “That will be the next adjustment. But right now I feel good about how everything is going and we will have answers for whatever happens.”
Sitake said BYU is already gearing up for the rematch with Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes, and expect a great atmosphere in Boulder on Sept. 27 as CU will have revenge on its mind.
“Yeah, I think it is going to be a lot of fun. Same time zone as us, so I am not worried about it. It is a short trip. I am really thankful that we have those new teams in our conference, one of them being Utah. And having the short distance going to Colorado, and Arizona, and playing Arizona State,” he said. “That is a relief compared to the lengthy travel to Texas, and West Virginia, places back East.”
The remainder of BYU’s games will be announced on a 12-day or six-day notice in conjunction with the Big 12’s official digital platforms.
The 2025 season marks the start of the league’s new media rights package that continues its partnership with Fox and ESPN and also adds TNT Sports.
“I am OK with (the different kickoff times) because we have some of the best TV partners in the game, and everybody has seen all the media news that we literally have a platform now over five different networks,” Santiago said. “And I don’t mind an 8:15 start when it is 100 degrees outside. The sun will come down, and there will be shade. It will be an absolutely beautiful night when we play those late games at LaVell Edwards Stadium, and hopefully we have the magic and the ball keeps bouncing our way.”
“I like them all. Just get me a Coke and a Cougar Tail and I will be just fine.”
— BYU coach Kalani Sitake on the Cougars' late starts
The Cougars went 5-1 at home last season, 5-1 away and 1-0 on a neutral field. In the Sitake era, they have been especially good at night, earning the nickname “Vampire Cougs.”
Sitake and Santiago said the Big 12 meetings in Orlando in May gave them even more confidence in commissioner Brett Yormark.
“The biggest takeaway is that we are super grateful to be part of a great conference. Commissioner Yormark is excellent. Obviously, he continues to raise the Big 12 banner,” Santiago said. “We are doing everything we can to stay nationally relevant. We are in a league with some of the greatest universities in the country, and we are super, super hopeful that we can continue to be competitive in the Big 12 and, as I always say, do it the BYU way.”
Complete with a late-night Cougar Tail.
