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BYU and Baylor football players meet together for a word of prayer following a game played in Waco, Texas on Saturday, October 16, 2021

Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo

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BYU and Virginia football players join each other in prayer after a game played at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021.

Nate Edwards/BYU Photo

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BYU players circle to stadium to greet fans at LaVell Edwards Stadium after a game against Virginia on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021.

Rebecca Fuentes/BYU Photo

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Former Michigan radio sportscaster Bob Ufer is credited with uttering the phrase, “Football is a religion and Saturday is the holy day of obligation.”

It plays out in stadiums around the country every fall, the worship of fans and the devotion of the players and coaches weaves a tapestry of accomplishment, failure, elation, disappointment and triumph for millions of college football fans.

At BYU, the themes of religion and faith take on even more of a meaning on Saturdays. The Cougars and their fans have often felt isolated during their college football journey but may have found kindred spirits at Baylor University, their soon-to-be brothers in the Big 12.

BYU is far from the days of playing in the Western Athletic Conference and later the Mountain West Conference, enduring abuse and vulgar chants from opposing fans. The BYU-Utah rivalry has had its ugly moments as well, even though many of the fans of both schools are members of the same faith.

Not on Saturdays. And definitely not on social media.

The BYU-Utah rivalry was once called “The Holy War,” though that moniker has thankfully fallen out of favor in recent years. When the Cougars take on Notre Dame at Las Vegas in October, some clever writer will likely refer to the game as “Mormons vs. Catholics” in their story.

While the BYU football program has played an independent schedule for the past 11 seasons, the school’s other athletic programs found a pleasant home in the West Coast Conference, where many of the schools have religious affiliations and have generally treated the Cougars and its fans with respect. The league has honored BYU’s request to not compete on Sundays. At Gonzaga, fans used to playfully dress up as missionaries when the Cougar basketball team would come to Spokane but the administration asked them to stop, and they complied.

BYU and Baylor meet on the football field at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday evening, a nationally televised game (ESPN) between a pair of ranked programs.

In a world where too many things divide us, the religious and faithful aspects of the two schools may bring them together in the future.

Baylor is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the oldest surviving Baptist convention in the state. They are in turn affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist World Alliance.

Associate Chaplain John Maurer has been the Director of Sports Ministry at Baylor for the past four years.

“Our Athletic Director, Mack Rhodes, came up with the motto for our athletic department,” Maurer said. “Our purpose is to prepare champions for life. That fits under Baylor’s mission of preparing young men and women for service in a caring Christian community.”

Like their counterparts at BYU, Baylor students are required to take religion classes. Students must enroll in “Christian Scripture” and a history class called, “Christian Heritage.” They must also sign up for two semesters of chapel, a twice-a-week, 50-minute spiritual meeting.

“There is a code of conduct at Baylor, but not a statement of faith a student has to sign,” Maurer said. “We have student-athletes from all over the map spiritually. Some of the kids went to church every Sunday with their grandmother and we also have kids from the other side of the spectrum that don’t really know if they even believe in God. They didn’t come to Baylor because of Jesus. They came here to win a Big 12 championship and get to the NFL. We tell them, ‘We want to help meet you where you are at and take you where you want to go.'”

Maurer said chapel underwent a radical transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We all know that when any type of learning takes place, it’s better in a smaller group than a larger one,” he said. “Three to five thousand people crammed into a building doesn’t really lead to a life transformation or spiritual growth. For a while, chapel shut down and became virtual. Then we formed smaller groups of about 25 or 50 student-athletes. They all went through it and asked questions about what faith and sports look like in life.”

Similar to BYU, there is pressure on Baylor athletes to be excellent in all aspects of their life, including athletically, socially, academically and spiritually. Maurer and the Sports Ministry try to aid the athletes in figuring out how to balance their lives.

“Identity is a big piece of that,” Maurer said. “Human beings have an inherent weakness where they attach their identity to what they do. Student-athletes think, ‘I am my sport.’ When I think of our work, we want them having their identity in Christ. They need to know what that looks like or feels like. Their sport is still important, but they need to be careful that being an athlete doesn’t become the center of who they are.”

“Christianity doesn’t begin with what we do for God,” Maurer continued. “It’s what he does for us. Grace doesn’t say, ‘Do whatever you want.’ With grace you are set free to live in God’s ways. It’s a fruitful thing for you.”

BYU players, coaches and fans were very complimentary of the Baylor community and its fans after last year’s game in Waco.

Does the religious aspect of the university and its goals play a part in this?

“That’s a good question,” Maurer said. “I grew up in Cleveland and spent 15 years prior in Texas and New Jersey. Coming down here to Waco, there is that southern hospitality and there is a cultural part of that. There is a faith piece, too. Baylor is a family place. It’s kind of an anomaly in the Big 12 and it’s tradition rich. There are Baylor kids whose parents and grandparents all went to school here.

“I was at a meeting yesterday and one of our development vice presidents introduced a new employee. The new employee said he had between 40 and 60 relatives who all went to Baylor.”

So can BYU and Baylor become friendly rivals?

Maurer said he is hopeful.

“Baylor has a seminary and a good friend of mine (Dr. John White) heads the Faith in Sport Institute,” Maurer said. “He talks about athletes being co-competitors instead of enemies. Most of us have been socialized into thinking of our opponents as enemies and the contests are akin to war. As competitive athletes, they want to win every time. At the end of the day, we need to think of the athletes on the other team as co-competitors.

“From a Christian perspective we can and should do better. I felt that in the stadium last year. There was a different atmosphere on both sides. It would be cool for Baylor and BYU to model that for the country.”

The message of treating each other with dignity and respect can start with one player, then a teammate and then the entire team.

Former BYU defensive back Derwin Gray is the co-founder pastor, along with his wife, Vicki, of the Transformation Church. The Grays spent much of this week on the BYU campus addressing not only athletes but faculty as well. Derwin Gray spoke to the BYU football team and delivered a strong message of love and sacrifice.

“When you play, your motivation is ‘I’m going to lay down my life for my teammate not because of his performance but because of his personhood,'” Gray said. “Love says, ‘I want what’s best for you.’ Love means I don’t call you out, I call you up to be the man you were created to be. That’s how we love each other.

“Starters, you treat the guys that are running scout team like they are first team. You treat them with honor, and dignity and respect. Why? Not because they are the best player in the room but because they are a person that’s made in the image of God and they are valuable.

“There was a time in my life before I knew Christ that I thought fear was the greatest motivator of all, but it’s not. It’s love.”

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