4 minSports
BYU thrives in NIL era that many expected would hurt it, Steve Young says
NFL great Steve Young credits BYU's coaching and campus culture for a program that has kept winning under name, image and likeness rules, and calls for federal regulation.
Brigham Young University has kept winning in the era of name, image and likeness payments, a stretch many observers expected would leave the private, church-sponsored school in Provo, Utah, struggling to compete. Former NFL quarterback Steve Young, who has become one of the program's most prominent voices, says the school's approach is a big reason why.
Since 2021, BYU has tied Boise State for the ninth-most wins in college football. The Cougars were ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press poll before a win over Notre Dame lifted them to No. 2. They then faced No. 3 Utah in the Holy War, the rivalry game between the two Utah-based programs, a matchup that carried national attention.
Young credits head coach Kalani Sitake with building a culture that has held up while many programs have turned to what he describes as mercenary recruiting. He praised Sitake for maintaining the identity of the campus even as the market for players has grown more transactional. Young pointed to recent recruiting results as evidence, noting that five-star freshman Bruce Branch and quarterback Bear Bachmeier chose to stay with the program.
The school has also landed a high-profile basketball prospect. AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft, chose BYU despite higher offers from other schools, a decision that Young and university officials cited as a sign of what the program offers players beyond money. Keith Vorkink, the school's vice president of advancement, said BYU avoids trying to lead the NIL market, a stance that reflects its wider mission and its values-based environment.
That environment includes clear rules for everyone on campus. All students sign an honor code that prohibits alcohol, tobacco and premarital sex. Supporters of the school argue that the code helps define the community that athletes join, while critics of the broader college sports landscape say programs without such standards face a different set of competitive pressures.
Both Vorkink and Young called for federal regulation of NIL and college athletics to bring more stability to the system. Young argued that Congress is the only body capable of balancing the competing interests of schools, athletes, donors and conferences. He also said he has heard rumors of schools treating athletes as employees, a legal question that remains unsettled and one that could reshape how programs operate.
Young's comments come at a time when many institutions are weighing how to manage sweeping change. A Korn Ferry survey of more than 1,300 leaders in over 75 countries found that only 6 percent of senior leaders believe their executives are ready for AI-driven transformation, and 77 percent said capability gaps are a bigger problem than talent shortages. The same survey found that 66 percent expect managers to focus on helping teams through change. Gallup data cited in the same discussion found that only 25 percent of U.S. employees say a clear plan for AI integration has been communicated to them, and that engagement reached 43 percent among employees who had such a plan, compared with 28 percent among those who did not. Gallup also found engagement at 48 percent where managers provided support, versus 30 percent where they did not.
Source: foxnews.com
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