Five takeaways from future schedule shifts

PROVO, Utah – BYU football officially announced many of its future schedule changes as it settles in as a member of the Big 12.

The Cougars had to reshuffle many non-conference games due to Utah and Arizona joining the Big 12 Conference. That forced BYU to add a lot of new games and reshuffle the cards.

NEW SERIES‼️ pic.twitter.com/WGsDIi531i

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 25, 2024

The changes set BYU's 2025, 2026 and 2027 schedules at 12 games.

BYU's 2028 and 2029 schedules require just one more non-conference matchup, which based on trends will likely be FCS opponents.

Here are five takeaways from future changes to BYU's schedule.

Seven home games for the 2026 season

Winning seven home games is an important development for BYU heading into the Big 12 Conference. For the 2026 season, they will play seven games at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

History shows that BYU will have a good season if they have seven home games.

Since the expansion of LaVell Edwards Stadium in 1982, the Cougars have had three years with seven home games, and all three of those years (1996, 2011, 2020) resulted in double-digit win seasons.

BYU's home games in 2026 include Utah Tech (Sept. 5) and Cal (Sept. 12), followed by Big 12 games against Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Iowa State and Cincinnati.

If the Big 12's five home game trends continue in 2028 and 2030, BYU has positioned itself to play seven home games on those schedules going forward.

Non-conference games on the West Coast

BYU has a strong fan base in California and on the West Coast. Since moving to the Big 12, however, such appearances on the West Coast have been few and far between.

The addition of two series with Cal and Oregon State gives BYU fans in the West some non-conference games to look forward to in the near future.

No games against Big Ten or SEC programs until 2032

With BYU's series against Ole Miss canceled for the 2028 and 2029 seasons, BYU's next matchup against a Big Ten or SEC opponent will be in 2032 when the Cougars host Michigan State. This game was originally scheduled for the 2020 season but was postponed due to the COVID pandemic.

The same goes for future meetings with the SEC. The next matchup between BYU and an SEC program will be in 2035 when they host Missouri. This Missouri matchup, like the Michigan State game, is a byproduct of the pandemic-ravaged 2020 season.

Scheduling SEC programs will become more difficult as the league is expected to move to a nine-game conference schedule in the future. Then add in the fact that many of these SEC programs have competitors in the ACC; It's hard to imagine many ways for BYU or Big 12 programs in general to attract members of this league.

Navy second leg

When BYU and Navy announced a game to open the 2020 season, the announcement included that the Midshipmen would return to Provo without a year's notice. Well, now we have a year where the Navy will be traveling to Provo, the 2031 season.

BYU has never hosted Navy in Provo. The Cougars have played in Annapolis twice and met the Midshipmen in the 1978 Holiday Bowl.

Landing games against the military academies are challenging because they host the Commander in Chief Trophy games and, in the Navy's case, also play Notre Dame every year.

To highlight the challenges associated with sustaining military academy programs, BYU's future series against Army West Point has been canceled.

Maintaining commitments with Group of Six teams from series prior to the Big 12 era

BYU has games scheduled against Group of Six teams in future nonconference schedules against East Carolina, Northern Illinois, South Florida and Troy.

All of these opponents faced BYU when it was an independent program.

Next year, BYU will travel cross country to Greenville, North Carolina to face East Carolina. In 2030, BYU will travel to DeKalb, Illinois to play Northern Illinois. This away game was originally scheduled to be played at an MLS stadium in 2020.

Northern Illinois defeated BYU 7-6 in Provo in 2018, a win that was added to NIU's “Boneyard.”

BYU will travel to Troy to face the Trojans in 2035. This is the second of a two-game series that began the 2020 season.

BYU will host the South Florida Bulls in 2034 instead of the 2026 season. This was postponed to accommodate the addition of the Cal Series.

This shows that BYU will fulfill its commitments from the series. Those games could have been canceled because BYU had a scheduling gap in its contracts due to the move to the Big 12. Instead, BYU will fulfill its obligations, including away games against Group of Six teams.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12-3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch's coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.

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