BYU deployed a full-court press to protect its football program this week, concluding with an extension of the contract of head football coach Kalani Sitake after Penn State tried to lure him away with a pot of Big Ten gold.
Sitake began informing key people around him late Tuesday that he would remain at BYU despite serious targeting by the Nittany Lions the past week.
This decision comes at a critical time, the week to prepare for the Big 12 championship game, a rematch with Texas Tech in Arlington's AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys .
As NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young told Dan Patrick on Tuesday, "They'll have to rip him from our bloody hands."
And that's what transpired the past 48 hours.
BYU alumni and boosters went to war to keep their popular football coach.
It was an unprecedented aggressive action by the machine that runs BYU, from top to bottom, all silos aligned to keep their man.
BYU finalized papers for Sitake's extension and held a 5:30 p.m. press conference Tuesday, a critical timing with Wednesday being the first day of the early signing period.
This was first reported by Pete Thamel, senior college writer for ESPN.
Why Thamel?
These days, many big news stories are broken nationally by journalists like Thamel, who get designed leaks from sports agents on everything from injuries to hirings and firings. This gets immediate coverage and is a frequent way for agents to get ahead of news stories with their own spin and purpose for clients.
Thamel's tweet on X: "Sources: BYU coach Kalani Sitake has begun to inform people that he intends to stay at the school. BYU is in the process of putting together a lucrative contract to keep him. He's been one of the main targets at Penn State, which he informed of his decision today."
What the foray into the Penn State Big Ten sphere displayed for all, is that BYU is committed to supporting its coaches, the players and the program.
The university extended Sitake at the end of the 2021 season, when then athletic director Tom Holmoe called the contract "unprecedented" as BYU transitioned to the Big 12. BYU gave Sitake a bump in salary and increased operational money.
After going 11-2 and earning an Alamo Bowl win over Colorado at the end of December 2024, BYU stepped up and extended Sitake again, a package that enabled him to enhance salaries for his staff to keep them in Provo. And to be more competitive with NIL, which brought the team QB Bear Bachmeier, tight end Carsen Ryan, and defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa among others.
So, what changed that another extension needed to be discussed?
BYU smashed everyone's projections for the 2025 season fielding a freshman quarterback for the first time in history, and got to the Big 12 title game Saturday.
Also, Kevin Young happened.
So impactful was Young's first season, a run to the Sweet 16 in his first year, when NBA teams came calling, BYU officials decided to extend Young, enabling him to stay and land projected No. 1 draft pick in AJ Dybantsa. The team is now ranked No. 9 by the Associated Press.
The other event was Penn State targeting Sitake, a courtship going on for more than 10 days, according to reports. Penn State set a reported market value for Sitake and his back-to-back 11 wins seasons at an estimated $10 million a year.
So, what was BYU to do?
Surely pushed by Sitake's agent, BYU went to work. BYU officials have repeatedly said it will not be the top bidder for athletes and, by extension, coaches. BYU is mission driven, as are its coaches. And Sitake is motivated by taking care of others, perhaps more than himself. So top dollar for himself wasn't going to make the difference.
If Sitake ended up at Penn State, he'd likely take most of his staff, support folks, some players and even some recruits expected to sign Wednesday as part of a No. 19 recruiting class in 2026. Penn State has been bleeding recruits since fired coach James Franklin left for Virginia Tech and has only six or seven commitments, per reports earlier this week.
When the Nittany Lions went after Sitake, BYU had to protect what Sitake had going in Provo. A significant part of keeping Sitake was also making him capable of retaining many staff members, including his coordinators, Jay Hill and Aaron Roderick.
Market value? Sitake said he wants to give his coaches opportunity. He wants the facilities to keep BYU in the game. Being in the Big 12 has accelerated that process. So salary, whatever it is, is not the ultimate motivator for Sitake.
The highest paid coach in the Big 12 is Colorado's Deion Sanders at $10.8 million before bonuses and incentives. Utah pays Kyle Whittingham $6.9 million plus $1.8 million in available bonus money. Sitake and his staff have defeated Colorado and Utah twice in their last two meetings.
BYU just finished beating Cincinnati 's Scott Satterfield ($3.7 million) Iowa State's Matt Campbell ($5 million) and TCU's Sonny Dykes ($7 million).
These figures are from USA Today's Compensation Report.
ASU's Kenny Dillingham is paid $7.4 million base salary.
A huge push began over the weekend as exemplified by Crumbl co-founder Jason McGowan going on X Monday, declaring it was time to get involved. "Some people are not replaceable. Sounds like it is time for me to get off the sidelines and get to work."
McGowen, who has set up Sitake with a Crumbl franchise in Orlando, where Sitake's wife's family is from, is one of several billionaires who have stepped forward in college football's new era of NIL and growing coaching salaries.
Crumbl has more than 1,000 franchises across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico with expansion plans across the globe. For a company founded in 2017, it has been on a monster growth trajectory for a cookie company.
Many know of Utah Jazz and Mammoth owner Ryan Smith's interest in his alma mater BYU, but he's only one of many.
Another is Min Kim, founder of Nutricost in Vineyard, a BYU chemical engineering graduate, who has been involved in helping BYU's athletic administration for years, navigating NIL. Kim's company produces one of the top three supplement brands on Amazon with revenue reports of $540 million in 2025, and a system-wide revenue valued at an estimated $1.2 to $2 billion.
With these interested parties, plus others, BYU's administration quickly worked out an extension for Sitake, his staff, and a review of projected NIL needs that would supplement the NCAA-required $21 million in revenue sharing all FBS schools must spend each year.
Bottom line to all this noise this week, definitely a distraction before the biggest game perhaps since 1984's Holiday Bowl matchup with Michigan?
When BYU decided to accept an invitation to the Big 12, it was time to put up or shut up. BYU athletics had to go all-in or be satisfied with just hanging around.
Obviously the "all-in" button was pushed.
BYU athletic director Brian Santiago told media Tuesday that he received calls from all over the world telling him that they were all-in on keeping Sitake.
"In the seven months that I've been AD nobody has called me and asked me if we can be mediocre."
BYU decided to be a player.
"You have to be in the game," Santiago said. "Being in the Big 12 changed everything."
Even if Penn State reportedly offered him $100 million.
With recruiting heating up the next 30 days, it couldn't be a better time for Sitake, his staff and BYU to conclude all this business. This story also helped BYU gain exposure in the CFP ranking discussion and hype leading up to the game in Arlington.
You don't get to championship games without players.
That's 80% of the battle.
Looks like BYU is prepared to fight.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake talks with field judge Joseph Martinez during game against the UCF Knights held at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
