BYU sports fan are much more than a community of Mormons rooting for their alma mater. They are people in the community, students, alumni, friends and families who stand out among the crowd.
Each year BYU accepts roughly 8,000 students, and that means an increase in the BYU Cougar sports fan population.
Not all students may be crazy about sports, or even interested in rooting for BYU itself, but those who are part of the Cougar Nation take their job very seriously.
True BYU fans bleed blue, and you know you are a BYU cougar fan when ...
1. You make matching shirts with your friends and wear them to games. Keep calm and cougar on, fellow BYU fans.
BYU fans gather together at a home game to show off their matching BYU Cougar shirts they had made for the 2013 game season (photo Beau Graves).
2. You have camped out for at least one game during the school year, no matter the weather challenges you face. Rain or snow, warm or cold, nothing will dampen your spirits.
Dylan Woodbury camps out at the Marriott Center for Thursday's game against Gonzaga on 27 December 2014. She arrived on Wednesday morning, three days before the game.
3. You dye your hair or beard blue at least once a year for a major game. Nothing screams BYU more than died facial hair.
BYU fans color their facial hair blue for football game at Cowboy Stadium game (photo Beau Graves).
4. Going to more games means more opportunities to say 'Hi, Mom!' on live TV.
A mother of two BYU students captures a photo of her kids on BYUTV during a 2013 football post-game show. (Rebecca Luke)
5. No matter the call, you still get mad at the referee.6. BYU is incorporated into all your holiday decorating.
Buea Graves brightens up his work cubical during the Christmas season with a little BYU spirit (photo Buea Graves).
7. You go on at least one road trip each year to cheer on your fellow Cougars. BYU has plenty of sports that travel to different schools and states to play, but one trip every student should make before graduation is to the NCAA Tournament in Las Vegas.
Noah Christian and his friends show their excitment and BYU spirit on their way to the 2014 NCAA tournament.
8. Tailgating for games becomes a great time to hang out with friends, making food becomes an art, and you have another reason to get together with friends to talk about BYU sports.
Mikey Graves works food preperation and the grill for a pregame tailgate with family and friends (photo Beau Graves).
Three fans show their support for the BYU football team by pregame tailgating (photo Beau Graves).
9. More than half of your clothing is BYU gear ... and most of it is free shirts you got from going to games.
Cameron Starr and his friends sport their various shirts they have gotten for gameday (photo Cameron Starr).
10. You see a BYU athlete on campus, or at a sporting event, and you have to take a photo with them. No shame. Dreams fulfilled.
Jimmer Fredette and Brandon Davies stop and take a moment to fulfill every young BYU fan's dreams: a picture with there hero and favorite athlete.
11. You know the BYU fight song by heart, and you're passionate when you sing ... even if others can't always tell what you're saying.12. You begin indoctrinating your kids from a very young age that BYU is the best.
BYU fans picture their children with the popular Cosmo Cougar statue and football player helmet.