Back in Blue: BYU football Alumni Game welcomes back former Cougar greats
-
- Former BYU greats Norm Chow and Robbie Bosco coached the Royal and Navy Alumni teams respectively. April 3, 2026
-
- Former BYU players Harvey Langi, Tim McTyer and Adam Pulsipher return a kickoff. April 3, 2026
-
- Former BYU receiver Mitch Mathews stretches for a first down after catching a pass during the Alumni game. April 3, 2026
-
- Former BYU greats Tim McTyer, Josh Arnold and Michael Shelton participated for the Royal team during the Alumni game. April 3, 2026
-
- Former BYU offensive coordinator Norm Chow instructs players during the Cougar’s alumni game on Friday. April 3, 2026
Did you never believe you’d see Norm Chow coaching from the sidelines for the Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium again or quarterback John Walsh slinging passes up and down the field at the same venue? Well, it all happened this past Friday in what has become one of the football program’s more successful fan-fueled events.
Friday marked the 5th annual Alumni Game played at LaVell Edwards Stadium, and it once again produced a lot of smiles and a fairly competitive game which saw the Team Royal come out on top of Team Navy 29-22.
“It’s a lot of fun and there’s a lot of memories,” Chow, who coached Team Royal, said on the BYUtv broadcast. “It’s just a real honor to be here … It brings back a lot of memories.”
Chow’s memories began when he became a graduate assistant coach for the BYU football program in 1973. He moved up in his coaching assignments over the next 26 years, eventually becoming the program’s offensive coordinator before moving on to coach at USC, Hawaii and some among other progams.
Coaching Team Navy was former BYU quarterback Robbie Bosco, who famously helped guide the Cougars to their first and only national championship season back in 1984.
“This is one time when we can all get together and it’s great to see everybody,” Bosco said. “It’s awesome to see Norm … Playing for him was such a blessing for me, but it’s great to see everyone spirited and excited to be here.”
Leading off the scoring was former BYU linebacker Bryan Kehl, a player who seems to be making as many plays during the Alumni Game as he did when playing for the team from 2005-2007. Kehl picked off a pass for Team Royal in the flat for the two points rewarded for an interception.
Will Watanabe matched Kehl on the very next possession, picking off a pass for Team Navy to square things at 2-2. Watanabe played defensive back for the Cougars from 2019-2020.
The first touchdown of the game came from Cody Hoffman, who played for the Cougars from 2009-2013 and was catching passes for Team Navy on Friday. Given the enormous chunks of yardage Hoffman gobbled up as a player, it came as a surprise to no one that he accounted for the evening’s first offensive score. Hoffman’s touchdown grab came by virtue of a well-placed pass to the back corner of the endzone from Steve Clements, who played for the Cougars from 1990-1994
Watching all of it was current BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier, who enjoyed getting to meet some of the former Cougar greats while interacting with the fans who attended the event.
“I think you create bonds (here) like no other,” Bachmeier said. “This is just the epitome of BYU and the culture installed here.”
The second touchdown was scored by Team Royal, with Aleva Hifo, who played receiver for BYU from 2016-2019, catching a short pass just in front of the goal posts from Walsh, who played from 1991-1994.
“I just closed my eyes and let it rip,” Walsh quipped about the score.
The final touchdown was scored by Mitch Mathews, who caught a bevy of touchdowns from 2012-2015 for the Cougars, closing the score to 29-22, which proved to be the final.
Other highlights included interceptions made by Kai Nacua (2013-2016), Ben Bywater (2019-2023) and Tim McTyer (1995-1996.) McTyer picked off two passes on the evening, which included a game-sealing interception for Team Royal late.
Talmage Gunther (2019-2023) caught a touchdown pass for Team Royal along with Colby Pearson (2013-2016.) Adding a touchdown grab for Team Navy was Dax Milne, who played for BYU from 2018-2020.
Overall it was yet again another enjoyable evening with former players adding to their memories while fans enjoyed some good interaction while making some memories for themselves.
