Apparently, one BYU student decided to wake up and write an entire article in the Salt Lake Tribune criticizing his own school for giving Kalani Sitake a raise. Not just questioning it. Not just floating the idea that it’s a lot of money. He went all in. Called it disturbing. Claimed it reflects misplaced priorities. And yes, really published it in a major newspaper.
The piece was written by Elias Johnson, a senior at BYU, who took aim at the reported $9 million salary figure Sitake is set to make following a contract retool. The numbers aren’t confirmed, but they’ve been floating around long enough to hold weight. Instead of celebrating the fact that BYU just locked up one of the best coaches it’s ever had, Johnson turned it into a moral argument about money. He wrote, “The recent contract our football coach signed is the latest example. As a BYU student, I am deeply disturbed by the attitude our university has taken toward athletics.”
He kept going: “Those millions could provide clean drinking water and food to people around the world; it could fund thousands of full tuition scholarships at BYU each year. Yet that same money is tied up in a single athletic contract. What does this suggest about BYU’s priorities?”
That’s a real quote, and yes, this guy goes to BYU.
There’s no need to roast the kid, but it’s wild that anyone close to the program would take this stance right now. Kalani Sitake has done everything the school could’ve asked for and then some. He took BYU through independence, got them prepped for a Big 12 transition, built a winning culture that players actually want to be part of, and just brought in one of the most impressive recruiting classes in school history. The game is changing, and BYU knows it. They didn’t waste time. They paid the man. That’s what serious programs do.
This isn’t 2007. If you want to compete in a power conference, you have to pay your head coach like one. Sitake could’ve gotten interest from multiple programs this offseason, and BYU knew that. Locking him down long-term is the exact move a program makes when it wants to stay relevant in today’s era of college athletics.
Fans aren’t upset about this deal. They’re relieved. BYU just invested in its future, and that’s not something worth apologizing for.
