NOTE: With the 2011 football season now concluded, BLUE COUGAR FOOTBALL will return to providing weekly flashbacks that look back on great moments in BYU football history that happened 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, etc. years ago.
The year 2012 marks 90 years since the birth of the Brigham Young Cougars football program. What could be better for the first flashback of the year than to look back on the first season of BYU football?
It was 1922. With $200 for an operating budget, BYU became the ninth member of the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC). The conference was comprised of five teams from Colorado (Colorado, Colorado College, Colorado Mines, Colorado State, and Denver), three teams from Utah (BYU, Utah, and Utah State), and one team from Wyoming.
Alvin Twitchell served as the first head coach. He had two assistants. Together, they coached the 25 member football team in six games.
The first game was played October 7 against Utah State (known then as Utah Agricultural College). It was a 41-3 loss, but football was up and running.
The first win would come November 11 in game four against Wyoming. It was also the school’s first shutout. The final score was 7-0.
That was the only win of that inaugural season. BYU compiled a 1-5 record and finished eighth in the RMC. The Cougars were outscored 183-10, which equates to an average score of 30.5 to 1.7.
Nevertheless, football was alive. That is what really mattered that year. Little did they know that they were laying the foundation for a program that 90 years later would be nationally recognized.
The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com
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