Kalani Sitake has been at the helm of BYU’s program since 2016. Every year he’s been the head coach, it seems as though the Cougars continue to get better which will be interesting against Notre Dame on Saturday evening.
Sitake is 89-45 and has a 6-2 bowl record in 11 seasons so far at BYU. The Cougars are coming off a 2025 season where they went 8-1 and fell short of a bid into the College Football Playoff, but BYU secured the popular Pop Tarts Bowl trophy.
The reigning Big 12 Coach of the Year has US LBM Coaches Poll No. 8 BYU off to a 5-0 start this season.
On Saturday, Sitake will face Notre Dame for a third time, once as a coach and the other when he played for BYU in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Sitake was part of a Cougars’ squad that pulled
off a stunning 21-14 victory over No. 17 Notre Dame in 1994. With legendary College Football Hall of Fame coach LaVell Edwards at the helm, BYU went 10-3 that year and captured the Copper Bowl title following a 31-6 win over Oklahoma.
As a coach, Sitake and the Cougars lost 28-20 to the Fighting Irish in the 2022 season. BYU compiled an 8-5 record and won the New Mexico Bowl game over SMU.
BYU will host US LBM Coaches Poll No. 2 Notre Dame on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
“I’m really proud and happy that we get to be in this position, but also really thankful that Notre Dame gave us this opportunity to play them and willing to come out here,” Sitake told David Pollack of the “See Ball, Get Ball” show. “I’m glad they put us on the schedule and I’m really looking forward to the game.”
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake doubles down and tells David Pollack he's proud Notre Dame put them on the schedule.
— CathVSConf☘️ (@CathVSConf) October 14, 2026
But Pollack wants to know how that conversation went:
"YES, there was no hesitation. We want to play that game."
🎥 See Ball Get Ball w/@davidpollack47… pic.twitter.com/P3afSRqFrS
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Notre Dame at BYU: Get to know Cougar head coach Kalani Sitake
