A couple of games into BYU’s Big 12 basketball slate last January, first-year head coach Kevin Young and his staff realized what they had feared would happen when they inherited their nonconference schedule was actually happening.
The 2024-25 Cougars were simply not ready for the physicality and athleticism they were facing in early conference games against Arizona State, Houston, Texas Tech and TCU. They went 1-3 in those games, defeating only ASU, at home.
Advertisement
“Last year’s (nonconference schedule) was fine, but you can only get so much out of some of those games,” Young told the Deseret News Thursday. “You need better (competition). I think it kind of goes in line with our whole philosophy of just trying to get to the getting to a lot sooner.”
“I am learning how scheduling in college basketball actually works. There are these people — brokers, essentially — that try to put games on and so forth. I wasn’t aware of that. That became more active. Once we showed (BYU was willing to play) it definitely wasn’t that hard to put things together.”
BYU coach Kevin Young
That philosophy that a major upgrade to their nonconference was vital to their Big 12 success, and to getting a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament, has been apparent as Young and his staff have added one big-time opponent after another to their pre-January schedule for the 2025-26 season.
As has been widely reported, BYU will play Villanova in Las Vegas, UConn in Boston, Wisconsin at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City and two of these three — Dayton, Georgetown or Miami — in the Orlando area in November.
Wednesday, it was announced that BYU will face Clemson in the 2025 Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 9 at 4:30 p.m. MT at Madison Square Garden in New York City
Advertisement
See below for venues and dates; exact tipoff times and television broadcast plans have not been announced, in most cases.
That’s six Power Four foes, which Young said was the goal when they started the scheduling process shortly after signing No. 1 prep recruit AJ Dybantsa last November.
Additionally, BYU will face Nebraska in Lincoln and North Carolina in Salt Lake City (Delta Center) in exhibition games in October. A new NCAA rule allows teams to play two televised exhibition games that can be televised and in which fans can attend, but the results aren’t reflected on a team’s record.
Obviously, playing Nebraska and North Carolina that early will only help Young achieve his ultimate goal — to be more ready for the Big 12. In that way, they will count as much as any other big-time game.
Advertisement
“We felt like it hurt us a lot going into Big 12 play last year that we didn’t have tougher opponents in nonconference,” Young said. “So that was really the genesis of upgrading it. And then obviously getting AJ was big. Once AJ got on board, the phone was ringing a lot more.”
Individual teams weren’t the only ones reaching out. Young says promoters and event brokers also put BYU and Dybantsa on their wish lists.
“I am learning how scheduling in college basketball actually works,” Young said. “There are these people — brokers, essentially — that try to put games on and so forth. I wasn’t aware of that. That became more active. Once we showed (BYU was willing to play) it definitely wasn’t that hard to put things together.”
Also on BYU’s nonconference schedule, as reported by BYU basketball scheduling and recruiting guru Robby McCoombs at Vanquishthefoe.com, are Holy Cross, Delaware, Eastern Washington, Pacific, South Dakota and UC Riverside.
Advertisement
With the Big 12 moving from 20 to 18 league games next season, teams are bumping their nonconference slates from 11 to 13 games.
That means BYU presumably has one more nonconference opening. Young said an opponent has been found “in theory” but he is not certain exactly where the negotiations are at this point. McCoombs has reported that the unannounced game will be against “a Quad 3-type opponent” played sometime in December at the Delta Center.
“Our goal was six marquee games in the nonconference. That was what we went looking for.”
BYU assistant coach Chris Burgess
Asked if it is another P4 and/or Quad 1 opponent, Young said it is not.
“The one I am thinking of is not a huge opponent,” he said. “But there are plenty that are.”
Advertisement
Assistant coach Chris Burgess, who is mostly in charge of scheduling, appeared on BYUtv’s “Sports Nation” on Wednesday and mostly talked about the same things as Young did on Thursday — that BYU coaches realized their soft nonconference schedule last year probably cost them a couple spots on the seeding line.
“We won in the Big 12, and we still got a No. 6 seed,” Burgess said, noting that Arizona — which tied with BYU for third with a 14-6 league record — got a No. 4 seed and Kentucky got a 3 seed.
“Honestly, when we signed AJ, every event coordinator reached out, because they wanted to showcase him,” Burgess said. “They wanted good players and a good brand. And we know that BYU travels well everywhere we go, with BYU fans (all around the nation). So it was strategic, a lot of opportunities, but a lot of what BYU athletics is about right now.
“Our goal was six marquee games in the nonconference,” Burgess continued. “That was what we went looking for.”
Advertisement
Burgess also told the network that BYU coaches wanted to schedule a “true blue blood” — presumably a school such as Kentucky or Duke — but it couldn’t be worked out logistically.
“We tried really hard,” he said. “Both teams (tried) really, really hard. But you have to have the right dates. There were two other teams we really wanted to get on the schedule. But we are excited about the teams we get to play, all good teams. They should (all) be Quad 1s.”
BYU basketball exhibition games, 2025
Oct. 18 — at Nebraska
Oct. 24 or 25 — vs. North Carolina at Delta Center, SLC
BYU’s most notable nonconference games
-
Nov. 3 — vs. Villanova at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
-
Nov. 15 — vs. UConn at TD Garden, Boston
-
Nov. 21 — vs. Wisconsin at Delta Center, Salt Lake City
-
Nov. 27 — vs. Dayton, Georgetown or Miami at State Farm Fieldhouse, Orlando
-
Dec. 9 — vs. Clemson at Madison Square Garden, New York City
BYU’s Other Nonconference Games, 2025
-
Nov. 8 — vs. Holy Cross
-
Dec. 22 — vs. Eastern Washington
