After what’s been a wild 24+ hours in which BYU’s Kalani Sitake became the focus of the Penn State coaching search, Sitake has made his decision.
Per Pete Thamel of ESPN, Sitake “has begun to inform people that he intends to stay at the school.”
“BYU is in the process of putting together a lucrative contract to keep him. He’s been one of main targets at Penn State, which he informed of his decision today,” Thamel wrote.
This is a decision that will disappoint plenty of Penn State fans, but shouldn’t be overly surprising. Sitake is a BYU grad that has spent 23 of his 25 seasons as a coach in the state of Utah. When word got out that Sitake could be leaving for Penn State, BYU people— from cookie company CEOs to Hall of Fame quarterbacks— rallied together to do their part to keep him.
Sitake’s been BYU’s boss for 10 seasons, and it hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows.
BYU went 4-9 in 2017 and 5-7 in 2023.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.But since that 2023 season, BYU has been one of the best programs in the Big 12, combining to go 22-3 over the 2024 and ‘25 seasons.
BYU finished this regular season 11-1 and is playing for the Big 12 championship Saturday against Texas Tech.
The fact that BYU has done all this without projected starting QB Jake Retzlaff— who left the university over the summer— makes it all the more impressive.
Had Penn State landed Sitake, his lack of ties to Pennsylvania or any neighboring state would have raised questions. But now, fans are questioning exactly who is left for Penn State AD Pat Kraft to pick from.
