With BYU entering the Big 12 athletic conference this season, Cougar Nation is buzzing with excitement. As the 2023 schedules are set, the challenges and advantages of being in a power-5 conference are becoming a reality. And the Cougars are getting ready to compete on a national stage. “The expectation is high,” says women’s soccer coach Jennifer Rockwood (BS ’89). “There’s pressure, we’re nervous. But you know, you want that in your program.”

Listen as Rockwood, women’s cross-country coach Diljeet Taylor, and men’s basketball coach Mark Pope share what joining the Big 12 means for BYU, especially how it will broaden BYU’s national influence. “It’s going to be a bigger and better challenge for us,” says Taylor. But “[we] feel that BYU is going to bring a different level of athlete, a different level of fan, just a different feel to the Big 12. It’s really exciting.”

This episode is based on the article “This is Big” by Michael R. Walker (BA ’90) in the Summer 2023 issue of Y Magazine.

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