Cougar blue hits LaVell Edwards Stadium

The student section isn’t changing for the upcoming football season at LaVell Edwards Stadium, but the stadium color is.

Cougar blue is being painted all over the large elevator towers leading up to the press box at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Both elevator towers will feature the new stretch “Y” logo at the top, similar to the logo seen at the 50-yard line of the football field. The Y logo will be white, with a blue background, surrounded by an oval.

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“[We] can do some things to spruce up and maintain the stadium and we thought painting those elevator towers would be a nice statement with new status and our branding,” said Larry Duffin, director of the Marriott Center and LaVell Edwards Stadium. “We’re always in a mode of trying to upgrade and do some new things, and so it was sort of on the radar. Of course, it’s nice timing with being independent as well, but it wasn’t specifically driven by that.”

The elevator tower painting is anticipated to be completed by the middle of August as LaVell Edwards Stadium will be showcased on ESPN throughout the season.

Fans will also no longer see the flags of Mountain West Conference teams flying atop the south end zone stands. This season, the south end zones will fly alternating blue and white flags, similar to the flags flown at the north end zone. The flags are meant to add to the game day pageantry and feel.

The move to independence and the West Coast Conference has also brought changes to the Marriott Center floor. The basketball court now features the Y logo at center court, new West Coast Conference logos inside the three-point arcs and the original Marriott Center logos. The ends behind the baskets both say “Brigham Young,” whereas in years past one side said “Brigham Young” and the other side side “Cougars.”

“When you walk in the dominant feature is the new Y logo in the middle of the floor. That’s now adopted by all sports, not just football,” Duffin said. “It will be a wonderful branding statement for ESPN and others as they go up and down the floor. They’ll see that and hopefully that image will stick. It will state who we are.”

The soccer field and volleyball court at the Smith Fieldhouse will also feature the new West Coast Conference logos for the start of the women’s soccer and volleyball seasons.

Matthew Nix, BYU assistant athletic director for Facilities and Events, said the WCC logo will be facing the crowd close to center field at South Field, and the final location is still being determined for the volleyball court but will probably be along the baseline.

“I think our facilities are great and we’re excited to compete in the West Coast Conference and have some new teams come and compete and see our facilities,” Nix said. “We’re always looking for opportunities to upgrade our facilities. It’s a process that we go through every year; just kind of examine what the state of our facilities is and what we need to improve in the future.”

The next couple of years may also feature additional upgrades and accents at LaVell Edwards Stadium to move forward with BYU’s branding effort.

“We’re always looking at things, but they are plans for the future, which I wouldn’t say. We’re looking at certain things that we’ll do to enhance LaVell Edwards Stadium and the Marriott Center too as we go into the West Coast Conference,” said BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe at BYU’s Media Day. “Those are two great game day places – our arenas and our facilities. We have to keep them fresh and vibrant and very fan accessible and fan friendly.”