LaVell Edwards Statdium, formerly Cougar Stadium
In 1964, Cougar Stadium opened replacing a stadium by the same name that only
seated 5,000. The capacity of the facility was just under 30,000 with stands on both
sides of the playing field. Seating was soon added to make room for 35,000 fans.
Temporary bleachers that where placed at the back of the end zones raised the
capacity to 45,000. In 1982, the stadium was expanded to accommodate 65,524.
Permanent concrete stands, separated by entryways from the east and west
grandstands, were put in place of the temporary bleachers. Also the playing field was
lowered eight feet and the track was removed. At the end of the 2000 football season
the name of the stadium was changed to LaVell Edwards Stadium, in honor of the
legendary head coach, who retired at the end of the season.
In 2003, in order to raise revenue, the stadium was redesigned to provide more luxury
seating. The change resulted in seating capacity being reduced by over 1,000 to
64,045. The luxury seating was a noticeable addition because the arrangement of
blue and white seats in this section spell out BYU in block letters.
LaVell Edwards
LaVell Edwards (born October 11, 1930 in Orem, Utah) is a former American football
coach of Brigham Young University (BYU).
Edwards played football for Utah State University and earned a Masters degree at
the University of Utah prior to coaching at BYU.
Edwards was BYU's head football coach from 1972 to 2000. His offensive scheme
was passing-dominated. He started coaching in an era when College football
offenses were dominated by strong running attacks. His quarterbacks threw over
11,000 passes for more than 100,000 yards and 635 touchdowns.
Edwards coached prominent quarterbacks such as Gary Sheide, Gifford Nielsen,
Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, Ty Detmer and Steve
Sarkisian.
Awards won by his players include a Heisman Trophy, a Maxwell Award, two Outland
Trophies, four Davey O'Brien Awards, and 31 All-America citations. In 1984, he was
named National Coach of the Year after BYU finished the season 13-0 and won the
National Championship. Edwards retired after the 2000 season with a 258-101-3
record, a .722 winning percentage.
Prior to Edwards final game, the football stadium at Brigham Young University was
renamed LaVell Edwards Stadium in his honor. At the time of his retirement, he
ranked sixth in all-time victories. Edwards received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award,
presented by the American Football Coaches Association, in 2003.
