Kilani Sitake secures long-term future with BYU football

BYU-Idaho Radio · Kilani Sitake secures long-term future with BYU football

BYU football Head Coach Kalani Sitake and the Cougars have agreed to a long-term contract extension that will keep Sitake at the head of the BYU football team.

BYU Director of Athletics Brian Santiago made the announcement Wednesday during a news conference.

"We're really excited to announce that Kalani Sitake is going to be BYU's football coach long into the future," Santiago said.

During Santiago's announcement, he praised Sitake, not only for his spectacular work on the football field, but off the field as well.

"This is a great football coach, but this is one of the great people on planet earth," Santiago said. "He's committed to everything that's good. He's committed to not only running a first-class football program, but he's also committed to his staff and everyone in the building. He cares about every single person that is part of this program and maybe most importantly, he's all in for these players."

Sitake is an essential part of the program's success, leading the Cougars to back-to-back 11-win seasons for the first time since 2006 and 2007. His 22-3 record over the past two seasons ranks No. 4 overall in college football, only trailing Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana.

Under the direction of Sitake, dating back to 2016, BYU is 83-44.

He was also named the 2024 AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year, a finalist for the AFCA National Coach of the Year in 2024 and a semifinalist for the Goerge Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year. This season he has again been named a semifinalist for the Munger award honoring the most outstanding coach and was named the 2025 Big 12 Chuck Neinas Coach of the Year.

Sitake took some time to show gratitude to his family, the players and his staff. But when it came to talking about the fans, he grew emotional and shed a few tears.

"Finally, I just want to express my love to all the fans," Sitake said. "My wife said that the last day or so was probably one of her favorites, and she called it a 'love bomb' from all the fans. It's hard to leave when you have something so special and you have amazing people that support us."

Senior wide receiver Chase Roberts was relieved to hear Sitake will stay with BYU.

"It's a peaceful feeling. If he left, I would have been super sad," Roberts said. "I would have probably cried in my bed and I'm not even coming back for the next year. So that shows the character of Kalani and how much we care about this program."

Senior Safety Tanner Wall said Sitake has helped him and several other guys on the team become better people.

"He significantly impacted who we are as people, as leaders, as sons, as brothers, any label you could find for our life. He's had a touch point on that. And you know, this is the kind of man that anyone would go to war with."

And that wasn't just talk. In a video circulating online, which was taken after BYU's practice and before the news conference, Sitake broke the good news to his team, who cheered and rallied around their coach.

BYU football reacts to Head Coach Kalani Sitake's long-term extension with the program

While the specifics of his contract have not been fully revealed, Sitake should be with the Cougars for many years to come.

Tags

BYU-Idaho Radio Podcast