As part of the festivities celebrating BYU’s 100th season of college football in 2024, the Cougars will wear throwback jerseys from their Cotton Bowl season in 1996 when they host Kansas State to open Big 12 Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 21 in LaVell Edwards Stadium.

BYU will take the field donning the white with royal trim, black drop-shadowed version of the threads worn by the Steve Sarkisian-led Cougars in 1996. With the team wearing white for the home game, including all-white pants with no stripe in the style of the 1996 uniforms, fans are asked to wear white for the game as well.

The last time BYU faced Kansas State on New Year’s Day 1997 in the Cotton Bowl the No. 5-ranked Cougars earned a 19-15 victory over the No. 14 Wildcats to finish the year with a 14-1 record and achieve the highest national finish since winning the national title in 1984.

This year’s week four matchup marks not only a rematch of the 1997 Cotton Bowl but also the inaugural conference contest between the Cougars and Wildcats after not facing each other last year in BYU’s first season in the Big 12.

BYU will host Kansas State coming off a road contest at Wyoming in week three. When the Cougars last faced Kansas State, BYU, similarly, was coming off a game with the Cowboys, having defeated Wyoming in overtime, 28-25, in the inaugural WAC Championship game in Las Vegas in 1996.

Overall, BYU and Kansas State have met eight times dating back to 1957, splitting the games with four wins apiece. The Wildcats last visited Provo in 1977. The Cougars hold a 3-0 advantage at home to go with the Cotton Bowl win, while Kansas State owns a 4-0 record in Manhattan.

Last season, the Wildcats went 9-4, with a 6-3 mark in Big 12 action to finish tied for fourth. Head coach Chris Klieman has led Kansas State to bowl games in four of his five seasons since moving on from North Dakota State, where he won four national championships at the FCS level.

In addition to the throwback jerseys, BYU will honor the 1996 team versus Kansas State as part of the planned festivities commemorating the program’s 100th season in 2024.

Leading up to and throughout this year’s milestone season, BYU Athletics will be providing fans with a variety of opportunities to celebrate and reminisce over the rich history and tradition of Cougar football while cheering on the 2024 team in its second season as a member of the Big 12 Conference.

The official celebrations of 100 seasons begin this month leading up to the start of the team’s fall camp practices and continue throughout the 2024 season, which opens on Aug. 31 against Southern Illinois in LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Fans can participate and follow the latest announcements, news and updates about the 100 seasons of BYU football by going to BYUCougars.com/100 and the BYUCougars app. In addition to all the latest information about the special festivities, fans can read articles that feature and revisit the incredible history created by BYU players and coaches over the decades.

Olmstead leads USA U21 team to NORCECA title

BYU women’s volleyball coach Heather Olmstead directed the U.S. Women’s U21 National Team to the 2024 NORCECA Women’s U21 Continental Championship gold medal with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-16) win over Puerto Rico on Sunday in Toronto, Canada. With the title, the U.S. automatically qualified for the 2025 Women’s U21 World Championship.

“Everyone was ready to play at any time,” Olmstead said. “I thought our offense has been great all tournament and it was exciting to see us play well. Congratulations to Puerto Rico. They played a great tournament, and they have a great coaching staff. It was a fun match for us to do our best and I’m happy for the U.S. U21 team to win the gold and get the bid to the world championships next summer. All our players are eligible for next year’s U21 and I think they just set a great tone for the U21 age group. They worked hard and did everything we asked them to. I couldn’t be happier with their performance and how they were all in for the team all the time.”

Outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye (Kentucky) was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and Best Spiker. Libero Ramsey Gary (Indiana) was chosen as Best Receiver.

The U.S., which did not lose a set in five wins in the championship, finished the gold medal match with significant margins in kills (46-24), blocks (9-2), and aces (7-3).

“What a great tournament. NORCECA has done a great job and Canada was a wonderful host. We couldn’t be happier about the event this whole week. Everything was unbelievably professional and we had a great time. It was very classy,” Olmstead said.

Middle blocker Andi Jackson (Nebraska) led all scorers with 14 points on 10 kills, a match-high three blocks, and one ace. DeLeye and fellow outside Julia Blyashov (Stanford) each reached double digits and recorded seven kills. DeLeye led all players with four aces to finish with 11 points, while Blyashov contributed two blocks and an ace for 10 points.

Setters Bergen Reilly (Nebraska) and Campbell Flynn (Rochester Hills, Mich.) led the U.S. to a sterling .474 hitting efficiency (46 kills, 9 errors, 76 total attacks). Reilly added two kills and a block. Gary totaled 14 digs, more than twice as many as the next highest total.

Opposite Kennedy Martin (Florida) scored eight points on six kills and a pair of blocks. Outside Blaire Bayless (Pitt) scored five points in the third set with three kills to go with a block and an ace. Middle blockers Favor Anyanwu (Rowlett, Texas) had five kills and Taylor Harvey (Bountiful, Utah) added four.

DeLeye served for eight consecutive points with two aces in the first set as the U.S. turned a 9-7 lead into a 17-7 advantage. Martin led all scorers with six points on five kills and a block, followed by Blyashov, who scored five points on three kills and two blocks.

After losing the first three points of the second set, Puerto Rico scored 10 of the next 16 points to take a 10-9. The U.S. led by just two points, 16-14, before finishing the set on a 9-2 run. Jackson scored three points in the run and DeLeye added two. DeLeye led the team with six points (four kills, two aces), Blyashov (four kills, one ace) and Jackson (three kills, one block, one ace) each scored five points.

The U.S. took control of the third set with a 13-3 spurt to take an 18-7 lead, ending on a Bayless ace. Play went back and forth for the remainder of the set with Jackson scoring the penultimate U.S. point and outside Abby Vander Wal scoring the gold medal-clinching point on a kill.

With Puerto Rico taking the silver medal and the Dominican Republic defeating host Canada for the bronze medal, all three medalists came from the same preliminary pool.