PROVO, Utah — BYU football hosted its final media day of the Independence era on Wednesday at the BYU Broadcasting Building, giving the media and fans a preview of the upcoming season. The all-day event also featured an examination of the program's independence years from 2011 to 2022.
BYU director of athletics Tom Holmoe, vice president Keith Vorkink, head coach Kalani Sitake, the entire football coaching staff, 32 players from the 2022 squad, dozens of athletic department and campus employees and more than 100 special guests attended 2022 BYU Football Media Day along with more than 70 media members.
Complementing hours of breakout media interview sessions, Media Day also provided Cougar fans and college football enthusiasts alike the opportunity to learn more about BYU's 2022 team and the upcoming season thanks to a full day of BYU football programming on BYUtv, BYU Radio and other news outlets, including four hours of live TV shows simulcast on ESPN3.
Among the many voices lending their analysis and insights to the topics and discussions on Media Day included ESPN college football senior writer Pete Thamel, ESPN director of programming and acquisitions Kurt Dargis, president of Gridiron and former ESPN vice president of programming Dave Brown, ESPN college football analyst and former Cougar All-American Trevor Matich along with other noteworthy BYU football alums such as Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Ty Detmer, John Beck, Chad Lewis, Blaine Fowler, Riley Nelson, Mitchell Juergens and Mitch Mathews.
MEDIA DAY COVERAGE & CONTENT LINKS
Media Day TV Programs & Streaming Links
Media Day Quotes Sheet & Team Info
Media Day Twitter Highlights
Media Day Live Online Video Chats
Radio Interviews from BYU Radio — Sirius XM 143
Radio Interviews from KSL Sports Zone Network
Radio Interviews from ESPN 960
Radio Interview from ESPN 700
Radio Interview from SIC'EM 365 Radio
The broadcast day began on BYUtv and ESPN3 with State of the Program as BYUtv's Dave McCann discussed the status of the team and expectations for the 2022 season with BYU director of athletics Tom Holmoe, head coach Kalani Sitake, members of the coaching staff and players from both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
BYUtv provided live coverage throughout the day that included a two-hour special episode of BYU Sports Nation in the morning and nearly three hours of live web chats during the afternoon. Following BYU Sports Nation, the Voice of the Cougars Greg Wrubell hosted a special two-hour radio broadcast of Behind the Mic with Greg Wrubell on BYU Radio with live interviews from media day.
The live premiere of BYU Football: The Independence Era on BYUtv and ESPN3 debuted at 2:30 p.m. The program featured interviews and discussions with administrators, coaches, players and media members past to present while examining the goals and results of BYU football's journey as an FBS Independent program from 2011 through the upcoming final season this fall prior to joining the Big 12 Conference in 2023.
BYU Football Media Day also offered coverage on social media and online with many outlets publishing content. The event had multiple topics that trended on Twitter throughout the day and generated a news social media reach of more than 10 million.
The Cougars begin the 2022 season on the road, traveling to Tampa for a matchup with South Florida at Raymond James Stadium on Sept. 3 at 4 p.m. PDT on ESPNU.