BYU Team Culture

the training is hard but the recovery days are 2 years long.

lkllkl wrote:

the training is hard but the recovery days are 2 years long.

POTY

I’m at BYU with a 9:25 in high school and I’m not even in the top 50 guys. I’d say the coaches actually are very interested in all the runners though. The assistant coaches work with the top 30 and the second tier team and they pretty much know all of us by name and seem pretty involved. Other schools would definitely give you more money though.

Just look at the hs times of their top guys. Linkletter ran 4:15/9:15 in hs and he was their top guy this year, so you're already ahead of the curve. Your times are definitely sufficient for most d1 schools, I would look to see what school suits your needs the most, as most top d1 programs will probably be pretty similar. To answer your question, you would probably be in the mix with BYU's first and second tier guys, it just depends on how well you will improve and that is mostly on you.

Don’t go to BYU if you’re not Mormon. Go to Michigan or UVA or UCB or UCLA and try to walk on. Your college experience is far more important than your college running career.

Class of 2019 wrote:

It seems like there’s a lot of non-impact guys at BYU who could get a lot of money at other schools, so I’m wondering what the draw is.

I'll address only this part of your question.

Answer: the draw is that they want to go to a school with almost exclusively other Mormons. There are a lot of christian schools, but not many choices if you are Mormon.

Also, I'm not sure what your point is about them being able to get more money at other schools, since BYU is pretty cheap for Mormons, so they don't need a large athletic scholarship to make it competitive.

If you are devoutly Mormon, BYU is an excellent choice. If you are not, it is a pretty poor choice.

They are Mormon, like 98% of the rest of the student body.

If you are not Mormon don’t even consider BYU.

Ask Jim McMahon.

To everyone asking if I am Mormon: I’m not, but I was raised in a very conservative evangelical faith and the honor code would be a non-issue, even a plus. I think it would be just fine

Class of 2019 wrote:

To everyone asking if I am Mormon: I’m not, but I was raised in a very conservative evangelical faith and the honor code would be a non-issue, even a plus. I think it would be just fine

If it doesn't faze you now, it won't faze you when you're there. Referring to culture, there are some odd Mormon culture-isms that will take getting used to, but you'll generally be welcomed. You'll also find that runners are sort of the same oddballs everywhere you go, Mormon or not.

To your original question: You would be a desirable recruit, no doubt about it. Tuition at BYU for non-Mormons is ~$11k/yr right now. Living expenses are cheap in Provo. You'll have to figure out how much money it would take to make that an attractive option. BYU doesn't have a ton of money to spread around.

IMHO, Ed Eyestone is one of the top-3 coaches in the NCAA. That should weigh into your consideration.

Academically, BYU has some strong programs. Also should be considered.

The hardest social aspect for you might be dating. Maybe 90% of BYU girls won't date someone who isn't Mormon. Consider that if it's important to you.

Reach out to the coaches and schedule a visit. They also hold a summer XC camp that would be a great chance to check them out.

If you are a believing evangelical Christian then I would not definitely not suggest BYU. As others have said, if you are not Mormon then BYU will not be a good fit. Running for a top program is great, but if it isn’t a good fit, then it will not be a positive experience and you will not flourish as a D-I runner.

John Utah wrote:

They are Mormon, like 98% of the rest of the student body.

If you are not Mormon don’t even consider BYU.

That bad Johnny Utah? What if you're a stud athlete? I think over the years wasn't the football program recruiting a fair number of non-Mormon African-American kids?

Run Wild wrote:

If you are a believing evangelical Christian then I would not definitely not suggest BYU. As others have said, if you are not Mormon then BYU will not be a good fit. Running for a top program is great, but if it isn’t a good fit, then it will not be a positive experience and you will not flourish as a D-I runner.

I went to BYU and had some friends who weren't Mormon or even Christian. What makes you say think that BYU isn't a good fit for them?

Class of 2019 wrote:

To everyone asking if I am Mormon: I’m not, but I was raised in a very conservative evangelical faith and the honor code would be a non-issue, even a plus. I think it would be just fine

You are trolling and you are also a Mormon. You are giving yourself away, bro.

On My Way Home From An All-Nighter wrote:

John Utah wrote:

They are Mormon, like 98% of the rest of the student body.

If you are not Mormon don’t even consider BYU.

That bad Johnny Utah? What if you're a stud athlete? I think over the years wasn't the football program recruiting a fair number of non-Mormon African-American kids?

Unity is not bad. Homogeneity is not bad. Do you hear people expressing their concerns traveling to Kenya, complaining that everyone is black? Do you hear that criticism of Iran or other Middle East countries for being almost exclusively Muslim?

Anyway, most of the non white folks on the BYU football team are from the pacific islands. And they are all Mormon.

they are rocking it at byu basically because they are heathy devoted stock, training at altitude. A coach's dream. kids that fall in line, respect structure and work hard because wasting a talent is not okay. the school is super cheap and super welcoming. i ask a byu alum what they though of non Mormons and they said they are always welcome. and they really are. as long as parting isnt a priority, give up the money and go for the gold. It is pretty obvious they are doing something right. And they dont even need to buy foreign talent.

- BYU admirer but not part of the crowd.

goforitdude wrote:

they are rocking it at byu basically because they are heathy devoted stock, training at altitude. A coach's dream. kids that fall in line, respect structure and work hard because wasting a talent is not okay. the school is super cheap and super welcoming. i ask a byu alum what they though of non Mormons and they said they are always welcome. and they really are. as long as parting isnt a priority, give up the money and go for the gold. It is pretty obvious they are doing something right. And they dont even need to buy foreign talent.

- BYU admirer but not part of the crowd.

I don’t disagree.

That said, OF COURSE, non Mormons are welcome!!!!

The whole mission of the church and school is to make non Mormons into Mormons.

Most of the guys on the team will pay to spend two years of their lives spending every single day dedicated to welcoming non Mormons into the Mormon fold.

Isn't the roster 31 people?

Team culture is pretty fun, there are enough good runners that you can get . And there have been plenty of non-mormon runners that went through BYU.

Nico Montanez was 9th at NCAA Cross two years ago for BYU and he isn't Mormon. Conner Peloquin came to BYU as a pretty highly recruited guy nationally, and he's a devout catholic.

During my time at BYU I knew lots of foreign students who were Muslim who came to BYU partly because of the religious atmosphere. BYU just hired a new Offensive Coordinator for the football team that is a Baptist, and he almost certainly took a paycut to go there from LSU.

My point is that the Honor Code/ Culture really caters to religious people, regardless of their faith.

Visit campus if you can, and you will know if it is for you or not almost right away- things are pretty different than on your average college campus.