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Intercollegiate Athletics football records

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 1315

Scope and Contents

Contains scrapbooks from the Lavell Edwards Era (1971-2000). Lavell Edwards was head coach of the team from 1972-2000 and had a record of 257-101-3. He is the sixth winningest coach in college football history. He coached the team to a 13-0 record in 1984 and the Cougars won their only National Championship that year. He took the Cougars to 10 straight conference championships and 17 straight bowl games. He was also the winner of two National Coach of the Year awards in 1979 and 1984 and was inducted a member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004. Upon Coach Edwards's retirement the University renamed the Cougars football stadium to Lavell Edwards Stadium.

Dates

  • 1971-2000

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Restricted. Closed for 35 years from the date of creation of the records, and thereafter open to the public in accordance with the University Archives Policy.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to use material from this collection must be obtained from Reference Services at specialcollections@byu.edu.

Administrative History

Football was first introduced to BYU in 1896; however, the team was discontinued after three seasons because the administration was concerned about violence of the game. The team was reestablished in 1922 and became an official collegiate sport that year. Coaches have been: Alvin Twitchell (1922-1924), C.J. Hart (1925 and 1927), G. Ott Romney (1926, 1928-1936, 1938), Eddie Kimball (1937, 1939-1941, 1946-1948), Floyd Millet (1942), Chick Atkinson (1949-1955), Hal Kopp (1956-1958), Tally Stevens (1959-1960), Hal Mitchel (1961-1963), Tom Hudspeth (1964-1971), Lavell Edwards (1972-2000), Gary Crowton (2001-2004), and Bronco Mendenhall (2005-present). The Cougars have won 22 conference championships and 1 National Championship in 1984. The Cougars went undefeated in the 1984 season with a record of 13-0. They played the Michigan Wolverines in the Holiday Bowl on December 21 and won 24-17. They received the AP and UPI number one ranking which gave them the National Championship. They are the only team to play before New Year's Day and win the National Championship. The Cougars are also the only team still playing in a mid-major conference to have won the National Championship. In 1990, Ty Detmer won the Heisman Trophy which is awarded to the best player in college football. He is the only player in school history to win the award. The Davey O'Brien Award which is awarded to the nation's best quarterback has been received by a BYU quarterback four times. Jim McMahon (1981) and Steve Young (1983) won the award and Ty Detmer was the first of only three quarterbacks to win the award twice (1990-1991). The Outland Trophy is given to the most outstanding interior lineman and Jason Buck, a defensive tackle, (1986) and Mohammed Elewonibi, an offensive guard, (1989) won the award. In 2001 Luke Staley won the Doak Walker Award which is given to the best running back in the nation. The Cougars have been in four conferences. The first conference was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (1922-1937). The second conference was the Mountain State Conference (1938-1961). Third was the Western Athletic Conference (1962-1998). The current conference is the Mountain West Conference (1999-present). The overall record of the Cougars is 470-367-26.

Extent

18 cartons (29.5 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Other Finding Aids

Box-level inventory available online. http://files.lib.byu.edu/ead/XML/UA1315.xml

Custodial History

Transferred from Records Management, February 2007

Appraisal

University history (University Archives collecting policy, February 2010).

Processing Information

Processed; Matthew Leavitt; 2007.

Title
Register of Intercollegiate Athletics football records
Status
Completed
Author
Garrett Schroath
Date
2011 May 12
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English in Latin script.

Repository Details

Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections. University Archives Repository

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo UT 84602 US