Kalani Sitake on Move to Big 12: ‘Everything is Elevated’
While BYU head coach Kalani Stitake has been vocal about not counting chickens before the eggs hatch, Sitake can comfortably share his excitement following the release of the 2023-2024 Big 12 football schedule.
With the addition of BYU to the Big 12 conference set in stone, the Cougars have a reason to celebrate. When the announcement of BYU leaving its status as a Division-I independent to join the competitive Big 12 conference, head coach Kalani Sitake did not celebrate until contracts had been signed and the schedule had been released.
Sitake spoke on his caution about celebrating too early by telling The Athletic, “Everything is elevated. It’s the sense of urgency. It’s the expectation. … We’re in offseason conditioning now, and it just means it’s so much closer.”
“During the 2022 fall season, everyone kept talking about the Big 12. I kept telling everyone to stop talking about it. We have to worry about the now. There’s some guys on this team right now that aren’t going to be playing in the Big 12. I just wanted to put it on the back burner. Now? It’s like, we’re here, it is happening. That’s every aspect of the job. I love this feeling. I recognize it from when I was at Utah and we moved to the Pac-12.” Sitake said.
Urgency and excitement are in the air in Provo with the football season getting closer every day. Cougar fans have something to look forward to in the very near future as they kick off their season as an official member of the Big 12 conference against Lance Leipold and the budding Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence on September 23rd.
