BYU Football started a special partnership two seasons ago, which has continued into this season, with BYU-Pathway Worldwide students in Africa. The partnership began as an opportunity for mentorship from the players to the students and has led to special connections and inspiration from the students to the players.
There is a special focus at BYU on being globally minded, with the statement “The World is our Campus” being an unofficial motto at the university, displayed on BYU signage that’s seen when entering campus. That global focus is also strengthened through missionary service that many at BYU participate in. More than 60 percent of BYU students speak a second language, and they speak more than 120 different languages, with 84 different languages taught at BYU. This global connectivity also includes BYU's global fan base. With BYU’s sponsoring institution being The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with congregations and alumni throughout the country and world, there are pockets of BYU fandom everywhere.
Missionary service has been a staple within the BYU football program since its inception. Around half of any given BYU football roster has served missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, around the globe. While those within the Church understand the details of what a mission entails, they can be foreign to those not of the faith.
In an effort to help those outside of the Latter-day Saint faith community, including media members, fans and others through the Big 12 Conference understand a bit more about missions, we hope the following is helpful.
What is a mission?
The Church’s missionary program is one of its most recognized characteristics. Latter-day Saint missionaries can be seen on the streets of hundreds of major cities in the world as well as in thousands of smaller communities. The expectation for mission duration is between 18 months to two years. They are voluntary and self-funded. BYU student-athletes who chose to serve missions do so out of a love for Jesus Christ and a desire to serve others. Some BYU student-athletes elect to fulfill their missionary service after they graduate high school and defer their enrollment to BYU. Others take a break from studying and competing at BYU and perform their missionary service partway through their time as a student-athlete. Missionaries receive their assignment from Church headquarters and are sent to countries all throughout the world where governments allow the Church to operate. Missionaries do not request their area of assignment and do not know beforehand whether they will be required to learn a language.
I have been called to serve in the Brazil São Paulo Interlagos Mission! I am so excited to give my life to God for the next two years after this football season and to serve as an official representative of Jesus Christ! pic.twitter.com/Ls4EVRWFZn
— Emerson Geilman (@EmersonGeilman) August 19, 2025
Why serve a mission?
Ultimately, missionary work is about serving God and serving His children, dedicating one's life to that service for a set period of time. Missionaries often talk about serving a mission as a small way to show appreciation to God for all that He has given them in their lives. As missionaries learn and work and serve, they also gain essential life skills in areas of study, planning, logistics, interpersonal communication, relationship building, cross-cultural competence, patience, resilience and time management. A mission can serve as an important foundation for the rest of one's life, ultimately benifitting those who serve in their future education, family life, work life and Church service.
BYU Football missionary service by the numbers
- 64 players on the current roster served missions
- Five coaches on the staff served missions, including head coach Kalani Sitake
- They served in 29 different countries
- They speak 15 different languages
- Throughout the history of BYU Football, players and coaches have served in 77 different countries