Inside BYU
Yesterday at 10:11 AM
My encounter with the Cougars
I was in Provo, Utah last week for a college football game, Kansas handed the Cougs their first loss of the season on a chilly Saturday night at the base of the Wasatch Mountains. The 2024 BYU championship lacrosse team was recognized at halftime on the field in front of 64,000 fans.
I was able to attend a BYU lacrosse practice on Friday morning at 5:30am in the indoor football facility. I conversed with players and coaches during practice – those discussions comprise this week's Quintessential Podcast.
History Lesson
The BYU Cougars Men’s Lacrosse team competes in the MCLA. Founded in 1968; significant records of the team only date back to 1995 when Jason Lamb began his tenure as head coach. They've been massively successful in Provo. The Cougars won their sixth National Championship in 2024 going (19-0) adding to a bounty that includes titles in 1997, 2000, 2007, 2011, and 2021. It was the first undefeated season in program history.
BYU is the standard in the MCLA and has raised the bar for the sport in the Utah Valley.
Coach Matt Schneck (Wilton CT) took over the reins from Lamb in 2009. In his second season as head coach, Schneck led the Cougars to their fourth national championship, becoming the first person in MCLA history to win a national championship as both player (BYU) and head coach.
Why is BYU lacrosse successful?
The Cougar players do not pay lacrosse dues for travel, equipment or field space. This is rare at the college club level. Most teams charge dues and supersize the roster to raise money. The BYU athletic department supports the lacrosse team's financial needs. They have a sponsorship deal with Warrior for lacrosse gear and the athletic programs wear Nike footwear. The athletic department is aligned and supportive of men's lacrosse.
Fridays practice was long – from 5:30am to 8am – intentional to rep a boatload of six-on-six and hold a legit full-field scrimmage with four 15-minute running-time quarters. Everybody got shifts, the pace and intensity were exactly where they should be. Like D1 and D3 programs, a handful of freshman adorned their high school helmets. That's Indicative of the tryout process that coach Schneck told me can last throughout the fall.
The coach said he likes to operate with a roster of around 45. The roster management challenges at BYU revolve around student-athletes coming and going on their two-year LDS missions. Many times, athletes will play lacrosse as freshman and then travel abroad on a mission for two years, before returning to Provo for school and lacrosse. Missions aren't a vacation. And typically, the athletes return to campus rusty, out-of-shape and susceptible to soft-tissue injuries.
BYU, in all sports, has two critical advantages – their players are typically older than the competition and BYU athletes don't drink alcohol. Those factors are a competitive edge. So BYU is an outlier, a disruptive innovator in the MCLA space.
BYU lacrosse players get 10 hours a week with their coaching staff. The players I spoke with said that's just a baseline for compliance and the actual commitment is far greater. The team lifts in the football weight room with strength and conditioning staff, plus indoor practices in November, January and February. Few D1 programs can match that set up.
Nobody in the MCLA has it better.
There were at least four assistant coaches at Fridays practice – an OC, DC and former players who live in the area who help coach Schneck orchestrate practice. They are staffed for success. Jake Halversen, who scored seven goals in the title game win over Utah Valley, was MCLA Player of the Year in 2024, and was at practice tutoring the young goal scorers.
So how good are they?
Comparing levels of play -whether it be D1 to D2 or D3 or the MCLA – is inexact, complexed and nuanced. Making broad brush generalizations is not the answer to the question of overall team quality. BYU has scrimmaged Air Force and Denver – I didn't ask for scores.
That wasn't my mission – I just wanted to see them in action – but it's worth noting that BYU has former D1 players Stew Vassau and Taylor Mason (both Utah transfers) on the roster. Vassau has a wicked change of direction from the midfield in the mold of Tucker Dordevic, a two-handed ankle breaker. Mason, now married, wasn't practicing because of a minor injury but is 6-4 225.
There are four or five Cougars who could easily be on any D1 roster in the country and you wouldn't blink. Goalie Easton Wilkey is athletic, 6-4 tall with length and range, while mobile out of the crease. They had six goalies at practice and coach Evan Clinger had his hands full warming them up. There's another half-dozen team members that could play minutes for at the D3 level. The Cougars come in all shapes and sizes – all are in excellent shape. Clean living has its benefits.
What's notable is that the Cougars displayed the same practice traits that teams like Maryland, Virginia, Notre Dame, RIT and Salisbury have. It's the attention to detail. The work ethic. The grit and competitive spirit. They have the same pride. Their player leadership is exceptional – as twice during the morning session active players led a brief, faith-based huddle.
Faith, family, academics, and lacrosse.
BYU players face the identical challenges as student-athletes across the landscape of D1 – except they get no athletic scholarship money, no NIL, less free gear and less external notoriety. They squeeze just as hard but don't get as much juice. They do more with less and love it.
My recent conversation with Texas coach Kyle Hartzell was enlightening in regard to the challenges facing MCLA players and their programs. Keep in mind, Texas is looming as a formidable rival to BYU. I find that to be intriguing.
Each week the Cougars honor a practice player-of-the-week (Juice Award with title belt) and Fridays session ended on a fun and positive note.
There is no place I'd rather be than at lacrosse practice. How lucky am I?
I observed that the BYU players and staff truly love one another and the game. You could feel it. The camaraderie of a team with like-minded peers was omnipresent. That's how you go (19-0) while defeating Michigan State, San Diego State, Liberty and Utah Valley in the championship bracket in Round Rock, TX.
I thoroughly enjoyed my morning with the Cougars. It's easy to see why and how this program has risen to national dominance. When you invest in quality people and do the work, all supported by consistent structure and grounded in a common faith – the rewards will be undeniable. Coach Schneck and his players have developed a culture and tradition that's palpable. The quality of student-athlete on this team is off-the-charts. They are academically motivated and faith-based young men who love lacrosse for the right reasons.
The game brings us together. I walked away from my morning with the BYU men's lacrosse team as a fan for life. Go Cougs!!!
