page_title: BYU Cougars
section_title: Football
hierarchical_section_title: BYU Cougars / Sports sponsored / Football
caption_attribution_description: English: [First Brigham Young Academy football team, 1896] One of the innovations President Cluff brought back from his studies at Michigan University was athletic competition, which included both interclass and interschool games, complete with yells and cheers unheard of up to that time in Provo (and which shocked many Church leaders). The first BYA football team in 1896 played the University of Utah (BYA-12, U of U-0), the Elks, the Crescents, the YMCA of Salt Lake City, the Wheel Club of Denver, and Westminster College. BYA won the championship. The team included, back row, left to right: Eugene McArthur, president of the Athletic Association; Heber Larsen, A. D. Miller, Dave Hyde, Alma Carbine, Walter Hasler, manager; middle row: Nephi Otteson, Jesse LeFevre, Orville Larsen, Hans Poulsen, John Peterson, Andrew Peterson; front row: Albert Fillerup, Sam Hinckley, Ben C. Call, and Frank Cox.
context_page_description: The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University, located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the West Coast Conference for most sports. Other sports compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and as independents. They were a member of the Mountain West Conference from 1999 to 2011 and before the formation of the MWC, the Cougars competed in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the Mountain States Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference.
context_section_description: The Brigham Young University Cougars football program competes at the NCAA Division I FBS (formerly I-A) level. Coached by Kalani Sitake, the team plays at LaVell Edwards Stadium. In 1984, the undefeated Cougars were voted the consensus national champion BYU is known as a "quarterback factory" for producing several successful quarterbacks, including 1990 Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer. Alumni who have played in the NFL include Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Gifford Nielsen, Bart Oates, Chad Lewis, Vai Sikahema, and Todd Christensen.
caption: The school's first football team won the regional championship in 1896.
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