Diljeet Taylor promoted to head coach

From the Provo Daily Herald:

"Taylor was born and raised in Ceres, Calif. She is of Indian decent and grew up in the Sikh religion. Taylor is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which sponsors BYU. While in the past head coaches throughout BYU Athletics have often been members of the church, it has been a practice but not a policy."

From Deseret.com:

"Taylor becomes the first non-Latter-day Saint head coach at BYU in the last half-century or so, but not ever. According to former BYU athletic director Glen Tuckett, former football coach Harold W. Kopp, former men’s tennis coach Jim Osborne, former wrestling coach Fred Davis and former gymnastics coach Mako Sakamoto were not members of the church."

I thought it was a rule that you had to be Mormon to be a head coach, I guess not.

How soon before Diljeet Taylor jumps ship to Stanford, now that she's gotten the NCAA title?

asgdgsdgd wrote:

I thought it was a rule that you had to be Mormon to be a head coach, I guess not.

How soon before Diljeet Taylor jumps ship to Stanford, now that she's gotten the NCAA title?

Stanford already tried to hire her away a year ago. Diljeet told them hell no. BYU pays a lot more and supports their program much better. She likely got this title promotion to justify a pay raise to keep her away from pro groups and others who support their programs much better than Stanford.

Easier to live in Utah on a coach’s salary than Palo Alto, that’s for sure.

I've been following BYU sports for 40 years. This is an extremely exceptional move for BYU athletics. Very surprising, not because she doesn't obviously deserve it, because of precedent. I'm honestly surprised they've been able to keep her around as long as they have. BYU is a great place if you're all in on mormon culture. But for anyone who doesn't fit the mold, it can be rough. I'm encouraged they are bending over backwards for a "non-traditional" coach.

Must have completed that course for professional certification in geriatric training.

Her husband is Mormon, and I believe his family is nearby. Great job plus family to help with work-life balance. Not sure there is a better deal out there for someone at the top of their game right now.

Seen her at many meets. She really likes to work it. And guys take notice.

She said no at the time because she knew there was a chance BYU could win an NCAA title in the fall... so she stuck around for that. But she will never be director at BYU (that I believe has a Mormon requirement) so it is only a matter of time before she leaves for better career opportunities.

She is a beautiful woman

Welp, Stanford is not a better career opportunity.

let's get this partey started wrote:

Her husband is Mormon, and I believe his family is nearby. Great job plus family to help with work-life balance. Not sure there is a better deal out there for someone at the top of their game right now.

Do Mormons allow you to marry a non-Mormon? I thought no.

I would say so because her husband is Mormon, and she is not nor did she convert.

COVID-19 misinformation victim (low IQ) wrote:

She is a beautiful woman

Between the hats and perpetual sunglasses, I haven idea. Likes boots though.

Wild Duck Whisperer wrote:

asgdgsdgd wrote:

I thought it was a rule that you had to be Mormon to be a head coach, I guess not.

How soon before Diljeet Taylor jumps ship to Stanford, now that she's gotten the NCAA title?

Stanford already tried to hire her away a year ago. Diljeet told them hell no. BYU pays a lot more and supports their program much better. She likely got this title promotion to justify a pay raise to keep her away from pro groups and others who support their programs much better than Stanford.

I agree. I also think this move is laying the groundwork to offer her the director job whenever Eyestone retires. I've never believed that there was an actual hard-and-fast "rule" that coaches had to be LDS. Technically, I think most BYU job applications indicate that you need to be an active member of the church, but they make exceptions. It's more important that someone is a good fit for BYU than that they're actually a member of the church. And Diljeet Taylor is obviously a great fit for BYU track and field and cross country.