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BYU head coach Kalani Sitake gets fired up during the non-conference game against SMU at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024.

Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

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BYU's Olivia Hamlin dribbles the ball against UTEP in a women's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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PHILADELPHIA — BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake has been selected as the 2025 recipient of the Buddy Teevens Award, which honors coaches who have been innovators in growing and improving the game of college football.

Sitake was announced as the winner of the 2025 Buddy Teevens Award on Friday night by Eli Manning during the 35th annual ESPN College Football Awards Show, a live two-hour special hosted by Kevin Negandhi, Booger McFarland and Molly McGrath in Bristol, Connecticut. Sitake joined the show live from Provo to accept the award.

Established by the Archie Manning family and named after legendary Dartmouth College football coach Buddy Teevens, the second-year award is presented by the Maxwell Football Club in conjunction with the National Football Foundation to recognize outstanding achievement on the field and exceptional leadership that leaves a lasting impact on players, coaches and the game of football at large.

“It’s truly a tremendous honor to be recognized with this award that bears the name of such an impactful coach and person like Buddy Teevens,” said Sitake. “I’m grateful to Archie and the Manning family for what they have done to honor Coach Teevens and his wife Kirsten. The fact that the Mannings and those involved thought of me as someone worthy of this honor is very humbling. The impact of Buddy Teevens on our game, doing things the Buddy Way, is a legacy for all of us to aspire to in this profession. I’m grateful for likeminded coaches in my career, like the legendary LaVell Edwards, who have inspired and mentored me to grow as a player, person and coach.”

Sitake, who was recently named the Chuck Neinas Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, guided No. 12-ranked BYU to an 11-2 record this season and a trip to the 2025 Big 12 Football Championship game in Arlington, Texas.

Under his leadership, the Cougars have won 11 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2006-2007 seasons. With a combined 22-4 record the past two years, BYU’s .846 winning percentage in that span ranks No. 6 overall in college football, just behind Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Georgia. Since taking over the BYU football program in 2016, the Cougars are 83-45 (.648) under Sitake, including double-digit wins in four of the past six seasons.

In 2024, Sitake was named the AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year and was a finalist for AFCA National Coach of the Year. He has also been a semifinalist the past two seasons for the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award, honoring the nation’s most outstanding coach.

Sitake guided BYU’s transition into the Big 12 and Power 4 football through principles of love, learning, humility, toughness and accountability. In addition to the success on the field, he strengthened the program off the field through BYU’s Built4Life career development program, which was designed to support BYU student-athletes in developing critical life skills, facilitating professional development opportunities and connecting classroom learning directly to relevant employment opportunities.

Under Sitake’s leadership, BYU continues to operate with the consistency, culture and confidence of a team built to contend for a long time on the national stage.

The Teevens Award was established in 2024 by the Manning family to honor their long-time friendship with Coach Teevens, who passed away in 2023.

Women’s hoops thrashes UTEP

BYU women’s basketball delivered a dominant defensive performance and its highest-scoring first half of the season to earn an 81-46 win over UTEP on Saturday at the Marriott Center.

“We rebounded really well in that first quarter, in the first half and then our offense kind of followed suit in the second quarter and going forward,” head coach Lee Cummard said. “Overall, I loved the contribution from a lot of people. We got to see a lot of different lineups out there, and I am grateful that for the most part, through non-conference, we’re pretty, pretty healthy, all things considered. And just thought it was a pretty complete game relative to some of our more recent games.”

The Cougars set the tone early, building a 42-14 halftime advantage behind efficient offensive possessions and sustained pressure on the defensive end. BYU shot 52 percent in the first half while holding UTEP to 17 percent from the field and forcing eight turnovers before the break.

Olivia Hamlin led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including four makes from deep. Kambree Barber, in just her third game of the season, added 13 points, seven rebounds three assists, two steals and two blocks in the win.

Marya Hudgins chipped in 11 points and five boards. Sydney Benally finished with eight points and a game-high seven assists, while Bolanle Yussuf pulled down nine rebounds to go with eight points.

BYU continued to control the game after halftime, pushing the lead to as many as 37 points in the fourth quarter. The Cougars finished the night shooting 49 percent from the floor, outrebounding the Miners 51-29 and recording 22 assists on 32 made field goals.

Defensively, BYU limited UTEP to 30 percent shooting and just three made triples, while tallying seven blocks and nine steals in the wire-to-wire victory.

The Cougars (11-1) hit the road for Big 12 play, traveling to Orlando to face UCF on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 12 p.m. MST at Addition Financial Arena. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Fans can also listen live on BYU Radio 107.9 FM, byuradio.org and the BYU Radio App with Jason Shepherd on the call.

Women’s tennis adds Australian recruit

BYU head coach Holly Hasler has announced the signing of Cara Korhonen, who will join the women’s tennis program for the 2026-27 season.

Korhonen will enroll at BYU as a graduate student during the spring term and will join the Cougars on the roster beginning in the fall of 2026. She will have four years of eligibility.

A native of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, Korhonen brings international and professional experience to Provo. She has competed on the ITF World Tennis Tour, making multiple appearances in W35- and W75-level professional events, and earned her first WTA singles ranking in 2024, reaching a career-high mark of No. 1146.

Korhonen also brings a strong academic background to BYU. She completed her Bachelor of Science in psychology at the University of Southern Queensland in just 17 months and plans to continue her education at BYU at the graduate level, with academic interests centered on psychology, youth mental health and wellbeing.

Korhonen adds international depth and experience to a BYU program that continues to build momentum on the national stage.