PROVO, Utah – BYU gymnastics head coach Guard Young released the team's finalized 2020 schedule on Thursday.
The Cougars will complete in five road meets and the inaugural Rio Tinto Best of Utah Gymnastics Meet while hosting five home competitions in 2020 before finishing the schedule at the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Championship in Boise, Idaho. Young previously announced the program's five home meets in a separate release in September.
The Cougars will kick off the season by hosting Nebraska on Monday, Jan. 6 at 5:30 p.m. MST. This will be the first time Young and his gymnasts face the No. 14 Huskers and the first time since the 2000 season the two programs have met overall.
Another first will take place later that week on Jan. 11 when BYU joins the University of Utah, Southern Utah and Utah State University in the Rio Tinto Best of Utah NCAA Gymnastics Meet at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. The teams signed a partnership for the next five seasons and will compete on a raised, podium floor.
“A podium is a raised surface where the gymnasts compete their routines,” Young said. “The coaches, judges and fans sit below it and it elevates the athlete and singles them out. For a spectator, it’s a great event.”
The following week, BYU will host Utah State and UCLA in a tri-meet on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. MST.
After two home meets in the Marriott Center to start the season, the Cougars will finish out January with two road meets.
For the team’s first away meet, it will take on Southern Utah in Cedar City on Jan. 24. Last season, the Cougars fell to the Thunderbirds on the road, but snagged a win weeks later back in the Smith Fieldhouse.
The following week on Jan. 31, BYU will face No. 15 Boise State in Boise, Idaho. Last season, the Broncos claimed first place at the MRGC Championships in the Marriott Center.
February will start by BYU hosting two home meets in the Smith Fieldhouse. First, on Feb. 7, the Cougars will host Sacramento State at 7 p.m. MST. The following week on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. MST, BYU will face Boise State for the second time.
BYU will then have three road meets in a row, starting off in Colorado where it will take on Denver on Saturday, Feb. 22.
“I’m really excited about going to Denver because they’ve had such a strong couple of seasons,” Young said. “They’re a good gymnastics team.”
The following week on Friday, Feb. 28, the Cougars face the Illinois State Redbirds in Bloomington, Illinois.
“The Illinois meet is far, but we get to fly into Chicago,” Young said. “It’s a neat part of the country and it’s fun to go back there for our girls. Some of them have family on the East coast and they get to come cheer on the Cougars.”
The final road meet will bring the Cougars back to Utah where they will face Utah State for the second time on Friday, March 6 in Logan, Utah.
BYU will hold its final regular-season meet back in the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, March 13, against Southern Utah.
Last season, the Cougars took their turn hosting the MRGC Championship meet. This year, the team will travel to Boise, Idaho, on Saturday, March 20 to compete in the championship.
Exact times for the road meets will be announced as the season draws closer.