His name echoes through the corridors of the stadium that bears it.
His silhouette stands on the sideline still, ten years after his death.
For five decades, his wife has sat in those stands far before his name ever hung over them.
While LaVell Edwards built a national championship program in 1984, Patti Edwards was right there beside him. Her presence was constant through each of the 29 seasons he coached at BYU.
She remained there until his death in 2016. In the decade since, the First Lady of BYU football stayed exactly where he would want her to be— cheering on his Cougars.
That was until February 13, 2026, when a founding mother of modern-day BYU football took her final breath.
“You can’t talk about LaVell without talking about Patti,” BYU athletic director Brian Santiago said, the Y on the mountain breaking through the clouds behind him and seemingly watching over the practice field his office looks over.
Married in 1951, the Edwards’ quickly became a team.
There is a kind of sacredness surrounding the Edwards name. The weight of their name is tangible in any room that it’s spoken. It’s a type of pride that is difficult to define unless experienced firsthand.
“He never tried to overshadow her. They did it together. That’s the legacy,” said Santiago.
When someone so influential and prominent passes away, there’s often talk of their legacy. That is, what they meant to the world, to the people around them, and in this case, college football.
How do you define the legacy of such giants? How do you take all that they were and turn it into something conceivable for those who didn’t have the privilege of knowing them?
Though LaVell passed 10 years ago, present tense is still used to describe both him and Patti, as if they’re not really gone. Their presence is still felt on BYU campus.
LaVell Edwards was a Hall of Famer. He turned BYU into the “quarterback factory,” won a national championship, and produced Heisman-winning talent. Those who knew the program best say Patti was just as central to what BYU became.
Yet no one described their legacy through their joint achievement of a prolific football program.
“He is a Hall of Fame coach, but he did it the right way,” Santiago said. “He did it the BYU way. He represented everything good about BYU, and he was an unbelievable disciple of the Savior.”
According to Tom “Pops” Sitake, the father of current head coach Kalani Sitake, when the door closed on LaVell’s office, the conversation was never about football. It was about the player. “How’s your mom and dad? Is there anything we can do?”
Robbie Bosco played a significant role in BYU’s 1984 championship win. He and Edwards maintained that close relationship until he passed away, with Bosco being asked to speak at his funeral.
“I think their character … their character is really who they are,” Bosco said. “They were never trying to be fake, trying to be somebody that they weren’t. And you could always count on that.”
When Patti was brought up, their eyes became soft, and there was a tenderness to the room. The affection that everyone that knew her has for her is the biggest testament of who she was. There didn’t seem to be enough words in the English language to describe just how much of a force she was.
“She was just always super sweet, super nice, wasn’t afraid, and asked about our families,” Bosco said.
“Classy, quiet, but powerful,” said Santiago. “She had a way to connect with people that was incredible.”
“Patti was amazing, first of all,” said Christiana Roberts, coach Kalani Sitake’s assistant, who worked closely with Patti. “She was just so charismatic, she was so loving, and she still had her sense of humor.”
Patti Edwards played such a unique role in not just BYU’s football program, but college football as a whole. She was a founding member of the American Football Coaches’ Wives Association (AFCWA), which was established in 1989.
“She really stressed the importance of wives being friends with each other and supporting each other. Because it’s such a different industry, coaches can change schools so often,” said Roberts.
“She talked about the importance of staying friends throughout job changes and life changes, and just how important it is to support each other, no matter the rivalry. Always put the friendship first.”
The AFWCA has held annual conventions since its creation in 1989, which are held in conjunction with the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) convention. The 2026 convention marked the organization’s 38th annual convention.
In a world of rivalry and division, Patti focused on unity.
“Everywhere I go that their paths crossed, and they find out I’m from BYU or the athletic director at BYU, they go, ‘Oh, did you know Patti? Did you know Patti and LaVell?’” Santiago said. “They just had a way of embracing people and loving people that was really special.”
Patti had such a special place in her heart for the wives and family members of those involved with BYU football. After Bosco played for LaVell for four years, he came back to coach under him for 13.
“We would bring our family [to bowl games] and after dinner or later in the evening, Patti would sit and play games with all our children,” he said. “Patti always took time to make sure everybody was comfortable and was having a good time … she was out and just making sure families were feeling good.”
The husbands were appreciative as well.
“To have someone taking care of the wives on the team, looking after them, having dinners for them … it was a huge blessing for the players. It made my wife feel more part of the program,” Bosco recalled.
Roberts, who helps to organize all of these events, has seen firsthand how much everyone loves Patti.
“She definitely had a presence. I would say she was magnetic … People were just attracted to her. People wanted to come talk to her, and she was always so friendly and welcoming and open,” she said.
Every year, BYU football has an annual dinner for the coaches, players, and staff wives of the program. Every year, Patti would have Roberts copy her “game day stew” and chocolate cake recipes to hand out to the ladies.
There is nobody better suited to testify to Patti’s legacy than Timberly Sitake, Kalani Sitake’s wife.
“Pat Edwards had an extraordinary ability to connect with people. She and Kalani were very close and she would often give both of us the most amazing advice and guidance about our roles in BYU’s football program,” she said via an email. “Her warmth radiated, she had an effortless humor about her and she was so generous with her wisdom. She came to speak to the football program wives every summer before fall camp. Her message always resonated as she held us captive with her stories of struggle and success. She shared her favorite game day recipes and explained their origin stories. She always told the wives that we should stick together and let the men battle it out on the football field.”
She continued, “[Patti] emphasized that the wives should be a support to each other and offer friendship through all of the ups and downs that a football season would inevitably encounter. Her presence was joyful, emotional and educational. She made us better while simultaneously making us already feel like we’re good enough. Her absence will be felt, but she left such a legacy that her presence will always remain.”
According to everyone who knew her, Patti had a way of making everyone she interacted with feel loved and cared for, even calling her a champion of others.
Santiago, who served as LaVell and Patti’s bishop for seven years, got to see them away from the bright spotlights of BYU football.
“To me, their legacy is the way they treated people. They were incredible disciples of Jesus Christ,” he said. “Their quiet acts of service and kindness … Patti sent letters to everybody in the ward on their birthdays.
“What will live on forever with us? The legacy of kindness, service, and commitment to the Savior that we got to see on a very unique level.”
Right before LaVell died, Santiago was scheduling a trip to talk to Phil Knight and other executives at Nike when BYU was trying to join the Big 12.
“I got a call back that said, ‘Yeah, absolutely, we would love to see LaVell, but he can’t come unless he brings Patti,’” Santiago said.
In the wake of BYU football’s abounding success, Patti’s name became just as prolific as LaVell’s.
“She wasn’t just LaVell’s wife, she was Patti Edwards,” said Roberts. “She was very adamant about that too. That support that she would show LaVell, and also her own independence, I think the women really look up to that.”
Now that Patti and LaVell have been reunited, how will their legacy live on?
One name was repeatedly said: Kalani Sitake.
Sitake played under the Edwards for three years, from 1998-2000, and is the first of LaVell’s former players to be named head coach at BYU.
He felt their love firsthand. Both times Sitake was injured while on the team, LaVell and Patti were the first and second people to show up to the hospital.
“Even LaVell told me that Kalani would be at BYU one day,” said Pops Sitake. “He didn’t say he’d be a head coach, but he said that ‘I know he’ll be here one day.’”
When that revelation came true in 2015, he was moved to tears.
As his former player, there is no one better suited to carry on the legacy of the Edwards name.
“Because Kalani’s a former player of LaVell’s, he really loved him and looked up to him,” said Roberts. “He took a lot of what LaVell taught, and teaches it to the team today.”
She continued, “Kalani talks about LaVell pretty often, and just how loving he was, and he was such a great mentor. Patti and LaVell really cared about the players and their personal lives, as well as on the field. They really wanted their players to succeed in life, on and off the field. Kalani’s for sure like that too.”
Bosco, who graduated before Sitake played for LaVell, sees Edwards in the head coach.
“I love what Kalani’s doing. Kalani loved LaVell, and he wants to resemble LaVell as much as he can. He knows what LaVell did for the program, and Kalani is doing that,” said Bosco. “The players love playing for Kalani. The players love playing for LaVell. He's hard on them when he needs to be, and he's not when he doesn’t have to be. And so those are the kind of coaches you want to play for. They're great leaders.”
He concluded, “Kalani’s doing a great job. I think LaVell and Patti would both be very happy with what they’re seeing right now.”
According to the athletic director, Sitake is a living manifestation of the Edwards legacy and example.
“I think their influence and their legacy lives on because Kalani is an exceptional example of leadership, and he was mentored and coached by LaVell,” Santiago said. “I really see a lot of similarities in the way Kalani loves his players, mentors them, and I really feel like Kalani is carrying on LaVell’s legacy at BYU.”
In December 2025, Sitake was faced with a decision that LaVell once was. Following a phenomenal two seasons after joining the Big 12, several schools pursued Edwards’ protégé, including prolific Penn State.
Similarly, Edwards was pursued by the Detroit Lions and other schools, but he ultimately stayed at BYU until he retired in 2000.
Everybody knows that history repeats itself. On December 2, 2025, Sitake announced that he would be staying at BYU, signing a long-term extension.
One of the last people to speak to Sitake before he made that decision was Patti Edwards.
“She was here before Kalani decided what to do,” said Pops. “That visit played a big part of Kalani’s decision to stay.”
The only people who know what was said in that meeting are Sitake and Patti.
“Whatever she was saying, God knows more. They were in there for a long time. She knows what’s good for Kalani. I know she was here to help Kalani out, because he was confused,” Pops continued.
“Whatever was discussed and said in the meeting helped him solidify his decision. After the meeting, he went home and talked to his wife. Then at 2:15 in the morning, my phone rang, and he said, ‘I’m staying.’”
HE AIN'T GOING NO WHERE!!!
— #IamJackDamuni 🇫🇯 (@JackDamuni) December 3, 2025
GO COUGS!!! pic.twitter.com/B5ROfjtRAw
The 2025 season was the last that Patti would get to experience after 54 seasons.
“She was super proud of Kalani and the program and wanted to make sure that they continue to take care of it,” said Santiago. “Kalani’s standing on the shoulders of LaVell. She just loves the program. She came to all the games. You could just tell she just wanted to make sure we took care of the football program.”
The decision mirrored that of her husband decades earlier, one that Patti had lived beside and helped guide once more.
Patti and LaVell shaped BYU’s past. Now, they can continue shaping its present through Kalani Sitake.