Lifelong BYU Cougar fans react to BYU men’s basketball’s historic season

In the first year of the Kevin Young era, the BYU men’s basketball program reached a place it hadn’t in 14 years: The Sweet 16.

There was a palpable buzz across the campus that quickly spread throughout all of Utah County.

The 2024-2025 season marked only the second time since 1981 that BYU has made it to the Sweet Sixteen, showing just how rare this occurrence has been in team history.

BYU men’s basketball fans had a lot to say about the recent success of the team, especially those who had seen the ups and downs of the program over the last 25 years.

Would you consider this season a success? 

“I think this season was a success for sure,” said Brian McNeil. “I think Kevin Young will stick around for a while and he will bring more wins to our program.”

The 84 year-old McNeil has been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints his whole life and has seen three children graduate from BYU.

“It was a little scary at first when Mark Pope said he was leaving," said Dana McCoy. “Then I thought, that’s it, the world is ending; but then we got Kevin Young and it was like oh wow, exciting … [Kevin Young’s] first season, a huge success.”

McCoy has worked on the Marriott Center's events staff for three years and lives, breathes and dies by BYU sports.

This sentiment seems to be shared by many Cougar fans; Young took what was thought to be a program in a tough place, and turned them into one of the best 16 teams in the country.

What made this year's team unique?

“From the time I was young I’ve had the chance to go to games in the Marriot Center but this year felt different,” said Scott H. “When I was a teenager they’d play an AC/DC song and that would be pretty cool and edgy, but since Ryan Smith helped the experience, it felt like a rock concert in there.”

Scott has worked for the Marriott Center’s event’s staff since the fall of last year, and has noticed the new excitement especially since joining the Big 12. If playing an AC/DC song used to be the baseline for measuring a successful environment, BYU has clearly elevated its game.

“The balance of having 10 or 11 guys playing is impressive,” said Scott. “That’s a tough thing to do, getting inside players, transfer portal players, and prior commitments to recruits, and getting everyone all settled and on the same page is an underappreciated thing Kevin Young did.”

Having such a deep bench was a theme throughout the season and proved to be especially helpful down the stretch, allowing Kevin Young to experiment with different lineups against various Big 12 teams.

Players like Trey Stewart and Mihailo Boskovic didn’t get consistent minutes throughout the year, but their energy and willingness to be a team player paid dividends for the Cougars.

Did BYU making the Sweet 16 have any effect on Latter-day Saint missionary work? 

The athletic program at BYU is often considered an effective missionary tool for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

“Jake Retzlaff in football, not a member of our faith, Egor Demin in basketball not a member of our faith,” said Scott. “Whether they ever convert to our faith or not, they are converted to the idea that the LDS church is a respectful, worthwhile organization that raises people to try their best and do right by others in and out of their faith.”

The idea that BYU athletics is a great missionary tool for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is something that is impossible to quantify in terms of numbers, whether that be baptisms or individuals asking questions about the faith.

One thing is true, the Cougars having success in sports elevates the platform and the reach that the university has to get their message out to those who would be willing to hear.

What impact, if any, did NIL have an effect on BYU basketball and what are your thoughts on its effectiveness?

The new NIL in college athletics has had open criticism because of it walking the fine line between amateur and professional sports. The main difference between the professionals and the college athletes has always been the opportunity to profit from their skills.

“I don’t think it was fair that so much money was being made from college athletics without the players getting any benefits,” said McNeil. “I think it’s nice that the students can reap some rewards from the money coming in, because they’re essentially entertainers.”

The idea that athletes should get some reward for their hard work and representation of the school is a thought shared by many college sports fans.

“I’ve always been on the downside of NIL but I mean, I’ve seen how it’s helped us too,” said McCoy. “BYU has the money, the donors, the people who want to see our teams win, it’s helped us get noticed.”

There is no doubt that NIL has had a major impact on BYU athletics with the recent signing of NBA prospects by the Cougars.

The new NIL revenue sharing gives some colleges the chance to acquire talent they never would have been able to before. In the case of BYU, it allows the university to compete in athletics and share its mission statement with the entire country.

In the first season under Young, BYU had immense success and gave Cougar fans hope for the future of the program. These Cougar fans and many others are optimistic about where the program is — and the success it can achieve.

In an age where there is constant change when it comes to how things are run in college basketball, one thing is true: BYU fans love supporting their team.