BYU Football unveils newly-renovated locker room

Following last week’s media day festivities, the BYU football team continued its offseason push ahead by introducing a long-awaited new locker room to players.

The completely redesigned facility, located in the Student Athlete Building on campus, was unveiled on June 21 after months of anticipation and uncertainty. Last year, concerns over COVID-19 revenue losses and other priorities led some players to believe the project would be scratched. However, it ended up being a question of when, not if, the renovation would take place.

Athletic director Tom Holmoe announced last year the department was projected to lose $20 million because of COVID-19, but a fundraising campaign called “All In” was quickly able to raise over $15 million in just a few months. The fundraising money was not used here, however, as the Student Athlete Building’s endowment fund ultimately served to install the new locker room renovation, the first such project since the building’s opening in 2004.

“This project is possible because of the generosity of so many great Cougar fans who years ago contributed to the building of the Student Athlete Building and its endowment,” Holmoe said when the renovation was announced in April. “Cougar Nation’s tremendous support of BYU Athletics continues to bless the lives of our student-athletes.”

The before and after photos show just how drastic of a change the renovation is. Above on the left is the locker room before, and on the right, after. Nearly every aspect has been updated, from the carpet, the ceilings, the TV’s and of course, the lockers themselves.

“It’s vibrant,” running back Tyler Allgeier said. “It was literally night and day compared to what we had, it’s so bright. We’re grateful to have an upgrade like that and grateful for all of those who helped support and fundraise for it.” 

The new crib for the Cougars includes a Nike cleat wall, shuffleboard, personalized lockers and other amenities specially designed “by players for players.” One such area is the barbershop in the bathroom area, where players can clean up their haircuts before games.

“I’m still in awe,” wide receiver Neil Pau’u said. “None of us are interior designers, but we all agreed on what we wanted and seeing it come to fruition was just beautiful.”

Reaction videos like the one below were circulating on social media, with the players showing their overwhelming approval.

The Cougars hope that such an impressive locker room experience will assist the program in attracting promising talent to Provo for years to come.

“I think that what Kalani has done with the locker room itself has moved us into a new lane where now a lot of high school kids in Utah would want to stay here,” Pau’u said. “Walking into something brand new with so much more space says a lot about what Kalani is trying to do for his players.”