50 Fun Facts About BYU

Brigham Young deeded property to create his academy in Provo on October 16 of which year?

Classes began the following January; the school traces its roots to a Provo school Warren Dusenberry opened in an adobe building in 1862.

Under what name was BYU founded?

Young said he hoped children of the Latter-day Saints could get an education there "unmixed with the pernicious atheistic influences" of other colleges.

Brigham Young's choice as the school's first principal was which German immigrant?

He arrived in April 1876; the first building on today's campus, begun in 1909, is the memorial that bears his name.

When the academy was dissolved in 1903, it was replaced by BYU and what other institution?

The following year the new university bought land known as "Temple Hill" for the campus it occupies today.

The university's founder, Brigham Young, was born in which state?

He was raised in upstate New York, became the LDS Church's second president in 1847, and served as the first governor of Utah Territory.

Nearly what share of BYU students have lived outside the United States?

Missionary service is the main reason; about 65% of students speak a second language.

Roughly how many languages does BYU teach on a regular basis?

Its Russian program is among the largest in the country, and about a third of students are in a language class in any given semester.

BYU's parent Church Educational System sponsors sister schools in which two places?

BYU itself also runs satellite campuses in Salt Lake City, Washington, D.C., London and the Middle East.

BYU's Middle East study center, closed in 2000 over security concerns, is in which city?

It reopened to students in the Winter 2007 semester after the Second Intifada and the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict had kept it shut.

The main campus in Provo sits at the base of which mountain range?

The campus has about 295 buildings; Kimball Tower was for a long time the tallest building in Provo.

The Marriott Center, BYU's basketball arena, seats more than how many people?

That makes it the tenth-largest on-campus arena in the country.

In BYU's building abbreviation system, what is the Creamery on Ninth East called?

The creamery started in 1949 to supply milk to campus and now serves more than 191,000 gallons of ice cream a year.

The Princeton Review repeatedly named BYU the most what kind of school in America?

To mark 21 straight years with the title in 2018, the Creamery released mint brownie chocolate milk.

BYU's ballroom team was the first US team to win formation titles at which English resort?

That 1972 win came at the British Championships; BYU now runs the largest collegiate ballroom dance program in the world.

Cosmo the Cougar first appeared in front of BYU fans in which year?

Cosmo's debut came on October 15 of that year, and he has been the school's mascot ever since.

Pep chairman Dwayne Stevenson bought the first Cosmo costume for how much?

He then talked his roommate, Daniel T. Gallego, into being the first person to wear it.

BYU began competing in the Big 12 Conference in which year?

The conference accepted BYU's application in September 2021 alongside Cincinnati, UCF and Houston; membership began July 1 two years later.

Which BYU sport competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation instead of the Big 12?

BYU is also known for refusing to play games on Sundays.

Which BYU alumnus won 74 straight Jeopardy! games in 2004 and now hosts the show?

He graduated in 2000 and guest-hosted after Alex Trebek's death before taking the job permanently.

BYU graduate Jon Heder ('02) is best known for playing which title character?

Other Cougars in entertainment include Golden Globe nominee Aaron Eckhart and animator Don Bluth.

Which television pioneer began college at BYU and got an honorary degree from it in 1967?

He later returned to the university to work on nuclear fusion research.

BYU's Harvey Fletcher, inventor of stereo sound, did the famous oil-drop experiment with whom?

Fletcher later came home to be founding dean of BYU's College of Engineering.

Which YouTuber and former NASA engineer graduated from BYU in 2004?

Violinist Lindsey Stirling ('15) and Tabernacle Choir director Mack Wilberg are also alumni.

BYU counts its collegiate football history from which first season?

The program has since won 23 conference championships and one national title.

Football was banned at all LDS Church schools from 1900 for nearly two decades after what?

Brigham Young Academy had won championships in its first two seasons before the ban, which lasted until 1919.

Eldon Fortie, BYU's first football All-American in 1961, had what nickname?

The next year BYU moved into the Western Athletic Conference, and Cougar Stadium opened in 1964 with 30,000 seats.

Which coach led BYU to its first conference championship in 1965?

The team went 6–4 that year; his successor, promoted from assistant in 1972, would win 19 more conference titles.

BYU's home stadium is named after which head coach?

It opened as Cougar Stadium in 1964 and was renamed in his honor the year he retired.

BYU's Hall of Fame coach, a pass-first innovator from 1972 to 2000, won how many games?

At retirement he ranked sixth all-time in victories and second for wins at a single program, behind only Joe Paterno.

BYU's home stadium, opened in 1964, now holds roughly how many fans?

It is the largest football stadium in its conference by capacity, and replaced a 5,000-seat venue of the same name.

BYU's 1980 comeback from 45–25 down against SMU with four minutes left is known as what?

That Holiday Bowl win was the program's first post-season victory.

What nickname did BYU earn for producing passers like Gifford Nielsen and Marc Wilson?

Steve Young finished second in the 1983 Heisman voting and McMahon third in 1981.

BYU's only consensus national championship came in which season?

The Cougars were the only unbeaten, untied team in the country and closed the year on a 24-game winning streak.

BYU capped its unbeaten national championship season with a Holiday Bowl win over whom?

The 24–17 win is the only time a national champion has played its bowl game before New Year's Day.

The championship season opened with a 20–14 win over which No. 3-ranked team?

The highly ranked opponent went on to finish just 3–7–1, which fed debate about BYU's schedule.

In 1986, Jason Buck became the first BYU player to win which award for interior linemen?

Offensive lineman Mo Elewonibi won the same trophy three years later.

Who is BYU's only Heisman Trophy winner?

He also collected the Maxwell and Davey O'Brien awards in 1990 and broke a stack of NCAA passing records.

BYU's 1990 season began with its first-ever win over a No. 1 team. Who was it?

The season ended with BYU's quarterback winning the Heisman.

BYU's first New Year's Day bowl, the Cotton Bowl after 1996, was a 19–15 win over whom?

Earlier that season the Cougars won the first ever WAC Championship Game, played in Las Vegas.

In 1999, BYU left the WAC with seven other schools to form which conference?

The Cougars won a share of the new league's inaugural championship.

Which running back won the 2001 Doak Walker Award during BYU's 12–2 season?

It was Gary Crowton's first season as head coach; three losing years followed, BYU's first in three decades.

Before hiring Bronco Mendenhall in 2005, BYU offered the job to which Utah coordinator?

He had played for BYU in the late 1970s but chose to take over at Utah instead.

From the 2011 season through 2022, how did BYU football compete?

Frustration over television coverage drove the move; ESPN helped line up bowl deals since there were no league tie-ins.

Ziggy Ansah went fifth overall in 2013, tying which passer as BYU's highest draft pick?

Both went fifth overall, 31 years apart.

Kalani Sitake, hired as head coach in 2015, played which position for the Cougars?

He came to BYU from Oregon State, where he was defensive coordinator.

The winner of the BYU–Utah Holy War rivalry takes home which trophy?

The two schools still disagree on when the series began; Utah counts an 1896 game against Brigham Young Academy.

BYU's Steve Young threw a record six touchdown passes to win MVP of which Super Bowl?

In 2005 he became the first left-handed quarterback elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Jimmer Fredette, 2011 national player of the year, went where in that year's NBA draft?

He later took up 3x3 basketball and played for the first US 3x3 team at the 2024 Olympics.

While a BYU basketball star, Danny Ainge also played Major League Baseball for which team?

He won the 1981 Wooden Award, then went to the Celtics, where he won two titles as a player and one as an executive.

BYU All-American Krešimir Ćosić, a Naismith Hall of Famer, came from which country?

He was only the third international player elected to the Hall, and his home club's arena in Zadar is named after him.