PHILADELPHIA — BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake has been selected as the 2025 recipient of the Buddy Teevens Award, which honors coaches who have been innovators in growing and improving the game of college football.
Sitake was announced as the winner of the 2025 Buddy Teevens Award on Friday night by Eli Manning during the 35th annual ESPN College Football Awards Show, a live two-hour special hosted by Kevin Negandhi, Booger McFarland and Molly McGrath in Bristol, Connecticut. Sitake joined the show live from Provo to accept the award.
Established by the Archie Manning family and named after legendary Dartmouth College football coach Buddy Teevens, the second-year award is presented by the Maxwell Football Club in conjunction with the National Football Foundation to recognize outstanding achievement on the field and exceptional leadership that leaves a lasting impact on players, coaches and the game of football at large.
“It’s truly a tremendous honor to be recognized with this award that bears the name of such an impactful coach and person like Buddy Teevens,” said Sitake. “I’m grateful to Archie and the Manning family for what they have done to honor Coach Teevens and his wife Kirsten. The fact that the Mannings and those involved thought of me as someone worthy of this honor is very humbling. The impact of Buddy Teevens on our game, doing things the Buddy Way, is a legacy for all of us to aspire to in this profession. I’m grateful for likeminded coaches in my career, like the legendary LaVell Edwards, who have inspired and mentored me to grow as a player, person and coach.”
Sitake, who was recently named the Chuck Neinas Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, guided No. 12-ranked BYU to an 11-2 record this season and a trip to the 2025 Big 12 Football Championship game in Arlington, Texas.
Under his leadership, the Cougars have won 11 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2006-2007 seasons. With a combined 22-4 record the past two years, BYU’s .846 winning percentage in that span ranks No. 6 overall in college football, just behind Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Georgia. Since taking over the BYU football program in 2016, the Cougars are 83-45 (.648) under Sitake, including double-digit wins in four of the past six seasons.
In 2024, Sitake was named the AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year and was a finalist for AFCA National Coach of the Year. He has also been a semifinalist the past two seasons for the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award, honoring the nation’s most outstanding coach.
Sitake guided BYU’s transition into the Big 12 and Power 4 football through principles of love, learning, humility, toughness and accountability. In addition to the success on the field, he strengthened the program off the field through BYU’s Built4Life career development program, which was designed to support BYU student-athletes in developing critical life skills, facilitating professional development opportunities and connecting classroom learning directly to relevant employment opportunities.
Under Sitake’s leadership, BYU continues to operate with the consistency, culture and confidence of a team built to contend for a long time on the national stage.
The Teevens Award was established in 2024 by the Manning family to honor their long-time friendship with Coach Teevens, who passed away in 2023.
“Universally loved and admired, Buddy connected with everyone who crossed his path,” said Archie Manning. “He mentored thousands of players and assistant coaches during his 44 years on the sidelines, and his passion for the game led him to become an innovator and pioneer in making the game safer for future generations as well as hiring women in coaching positions. Buddy was a great coach but more than that he was just a great guy who wanted to make the game better for all.”
A head football coach for more than 30 years, including two stints at Dartmouth equaling 22 years in total, Teevens, launched his head coaching career at Maine from 1985-86. He landed the top job at his alma mater in 1987, beginning his first tour with the Big Green, which ran from 1987-91 and included a share of the Ivy League title in 1990 and the outright crown the following year. He left Hanover for the top jobs at Tulane (1992-1996) and Stanford (2002-04) with stops in between as an assistant at Illinois (1997-98) and Florida (1999-2001) under Hall of Fame coach Steve Spurrier.
He returned to head the Big Green program in 2005, leading the team to a share of the Ivy League crown in 2015, 2019, and 2021. While at Dartmouth, Teevens was honored as the New England Coach of the Year three times, in 1990, 2015, and 2019, and Ivy League Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2021. All told, he led Dartmouth to five conference titles and a 117-101-2 record, including 83-70-1 in the Ivy League, making him the Big Green’s all-time winningest coach.
The Buddy Teevens Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about the association.