BYU-I Sports

For nearly 25 years, the official story behind BYU–Idaho’s decision to eliminate intercollegiate athletics has been simple: sports didn’t fit the new mission. When Ricks College became a four-year university in 2001, leaders emphasized academics, a name change, and expanded intramurals while phasing out varsity programs because of cost. On paper, the explanation made sense: running an athletics department while transitioning to a university model seemed unsustainable.

But that was never the whole story.

The Passion Behind the Decision

Cutting athletics at Ricks was one of the most emotional decisions ever made within the Church Educational System (CES). This was not a boardroom full of people with no attachment to sports. Quite the opposite—many of the CES Board of Trustees members, including Apostles and Seventies, were themselves former student-athletes. They had sweated through practices, fought for championships, and seen firsthand the way sports built discipline, leadership, and teamwork.

Because of this background, the internal discussions were spirited. Several members of the Quorum of the Twelve reportedly fought passionately to preserve athletics in Rexburg. For them, this was not a budget line, it was a matter of student development and campus culture. They valued sports as an educational tool and saw athletics as aligned with gospel principles of hard work, sacrifice, and unity.

When the Church debated the future of Ricks College, athletics were not dismissed casually. These were heated, prayerful discussions with strong voices on both sides.

The Behind-the-Scenes Struggle

While Church leaders weighed the future, administrators inside and outside Rexburg scrambled to find solutions. Former BYU athletics leaders such as Rondo Fehlberg, Val Hale, and Elaine Michaelis worked alongside Ricks College admin including Glenn Dalling and Garth Hall to explore every option. They studied conference alignments across the country, looking for any feasible model that could keep Viking athletics alive.

Longtime Ricks coaches also carried the torch. Men’s basketball coach Clyde Nelson and baseball coach Jerry Schledgelmilch, who both transitioned into faculty roles after the athletics program was cut, worked hard to preserve the Viking legacy. They actively explored conference options and advocated for ways to keep BYU–Idaho competing, knowing the impact sports had on students and the community.

Despite the passion, every attempt fell short; not because anyone lacked willpower, but because the structural barriers were overwhelming.

Why Division I Was Off the Table

From the beginning, Division I was never a realistic path. Conferences viewed BYU–Idaho as a potential “JV program” for the flagship BYU–Provo programs, a feeder school rather than a true competitor. No one wanted to admit a team into Division I that would constantly live in the shadow of another institution. That perception and a the inability to keep talent within the program killed any hope of joining the NCAA’s top tier.

Too Good for Smaller Leagues

The opposite problem arose with Division II, Division III, and NAIA. Administrators quickly learned that many small-conference schools feared BYU–Idaho’s talent pool. Even in 2000, the Rexburg campus attracted students who were borderline Division I athletes but chose BYU–Idaho for its spiritual and cultural environment. A school stacked with that kind of talent could dominate lower divisions almost immediately.

Conferences worried that admitting BYU–Idaho would make it impossible for their members to compete for titles. Rival schools simply didn’t want to face a team that might overwhelm them season after season, so existing as an independent was the only option that administrators saw going forward.

The Travel Problem

Unfortunately, even the independent route came with insurmountable challenges. In the early 2000s, southeastern Idaho lacked the infrastructure to support consistent travel. Idaho Falls had a small airport, Pocatello offered only limited routes, and Rexburg’s airport was essentially nonexistent. Hosting games often meant helping opponents cover their travel costs, a responsibility BYU–Idaho couldn’t take on without the backing of a conference.

For a school already undergoing the expensive process of becoming a four-year university, those added costs were impossible to justify.

The Official Reason Was True—But Not Complete

The official explanation—that athletics didn’t fit the new mission—wasn’t wrong. Leaders wanted the new BYU–Idaho to emphasize academics, spiritual growth, and a robust intramural program that would involve more students than intercollegiate sports ever could.

But the fuller truth is that the decision was not made quickly or without resistance. Apostles, CES leaders, administrators, and coaches all fought hard for athletics. What killed Viking sports was not a lack of belief in their value, it was the lack of a sustainable model.

Two decades later, the landscape has shifted. Travel options have expanded, with daily flights in and out of Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and even Rexburg. Bus routes and road safety have improved dramatically. Regionally, BYU–Idaho could now fit into multiple athletic ecosystems:

• NCAA Division II, with schools in Idaho, Utah, and Colorado, offering natural rivalries.
• NCAA Division III, though less common in the West, would allow BYU–Idaho to focus entirely on academics while still participating in national competition.
• NAIA, where College of Idaho, Lewis–Clark State, and Cascade Conference members would provide a strong but balanced level of competition.

Each option would align more naturally with the university’s mission than Division I ever could.

A Question of Timing

Sports build community, develop leadership, and teach Christlike traits such as sacrifice, resilience, and teamwork. The decision to cut them in 2000 was not made because leaders dismissed those values, but because the barriers at the time were insurmountable.

The real story of why BYU–Idaho dropped sports is not that leaders didn’t want them, it’s that they couldn’t make them work. Today, with infrastructure improved and more realistic competitive options available, the question is no longer whether BYU–Idaho values athletics. The question is whether the timing has finally changed.