Sitake turned down Penn State to stay at BYU — SkimNews
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- Kalani Sitake enters his 11th season as BYU's head coach at his alma mater with 23 wins over the past two seasons — more than all but four other FBS coaches — while remaining a self-described "fan" who builds unlikely friendships with opposing coaches.
- Coaching peers including Arizona's Brent Brennan, West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez, Colorado's Deion Sanders and TCU's Sonny Dykes publicly praised Sitake's authenticity, with Sanders calling him "a dear, dear friend" before facing BYU last year.
- Sitake played fullback for LaVell Edwards at BYU in the 1990s and has explicitly modeled his approach — respect for opponents without sacrificing competitiveness — after Edwards, who won 257 games and the 1984 national championship.
- After firing James Franklin in October, Penn State identified Sitake as the "100%" top candidate for the job, prompting BYU athletic director Brian Santiago to admit he was "super concerned" about losing his coach.
- Crumbl CEO Jason McGowan posted on X rallying BYU's donor base on Dec. 1 — "Some people are not replaceable" — and helped marshal additional support including NIL compensation to convince Sitake to stay.
- Sitake, who turned 50 on Oct. 10, considered retirement before exploring what BYU could offer in program enhancements across academics, medical and athlete mental health resources, ultimately choosing to remain.
- BYU's path to a potential first College Football Playoff appearance was interrupted by a 34-7 loss to Texas Tech and coach Joey McGuire in the Dec. 6 Big 12 championship game, though McGuire remains one of Sitake's closest friends.
Why it matters: Penn State's "100%" pursuit of Sitake and the scramble by BYU donors and administrators to match Penn State's resources shows how a program once considered a regional player is now competing for the same elite coaches as blue-bloods — and BYU's donor-backed commitments in NIL and support staff mark what it took institutionally to keep a coach peers consider irreplaceable.
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