Bold move, staying put: Kalani Sitake will remain at BYU despite strong interest from Penn State. After months of rumors and whispers about his potential departure from his alma mater, Sitake chose to stay in Provo and sign a long-term extension with BYU. Penn State had been evaluating a successor to fired coach James Franklin and reportedly pursued Sitake, but BYU’s leadership convinced him to continue guiding the program.
“He is a proven leader, and we are grateful he is once again choosing BYU,” said BYU athletics director Brian Santiago in a Tuesday statement. “His legacy of building a championship program the BYU way will continue on. He is one of the best people in the business. We are excited to ride the wave of positive momentum with him.”
This decision arrives as BYU, ranked No. 11, prepares to face No. 5 Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game in Arlington, Texas, this Saturday. BYU’s sole loss this season came at Tech in Lubbock on November 8. Securing a win over Texas Tech would likely lock BYU into the College Football Playoff field; another loss to a top-five opponent could leave them on the outside, depending on other results and at-large selections.
Sitake has been at BYU since 2016, turning a program with past independence into a contention-focused era. Under his leadership, the Cougars have posted multiple double-digit-win seasons, including three 11-win campaigns, counting this year. Since BYU joined the Big 12 in 2023 after 12 years as an independent, the team has gone 22-3 over the last two seasons.
“I am humbled and full of gratitude for the outpouring of love from BYU fans and the trust and support provided to our football program by our university leadership,” Sitake stated on Tuesday.
In a fall interview with The Athletic, Sitake reflected on leadership and the recurring coaching-search chatter that follows high-profile programs. He acknowledged that attention often correlates with success and visibility, but emphasized that a BYU team’s direction isn’t built around any single person. If anything is going to take him away, it would have to be something truly extraordinary, he suggested, because this place feels like home and carries a deep, shared mission.
Sitake’s tenure has also reinvigorated BYU’s recruiting landscape. The program’s 2026 class has risen in national rankings, with 247Sports listing BYU second in the Big 12 behind Texas Tech. The Cougars have secured high-profile commitments, including five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons from California, who plans a church mission before joining the field.
The coach has often spoken about emulating the legacies of BYU coaching icon LaVell Edwards and longtime mentor Kyle Whittingham, who coached at Utah. Both men navigated lucrative offers elsewhere but remained where they felt most at home, a theme Sitake has echoed about his own tenure.
Despite occasional questions from recruiters about his future in Provo, Sitake remains steadfast. “People say, ‘Oh, he won’t be around when you get there,’ and I think, this is a decade in, I love it here. This is home,” he noted in October.
Dec 3, 2025
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