This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It has been quite awhile — last March, to be exact — since BYU announced a new football series. But with the Big 12 declaring last week that it is no longer interested in expanding, football independent BYU is moving forward with some future scheduling.
The Cougars announced Wednesday a two-game, home-and-home series with the Big Ten's Minnesota, a school they have never played in football.
The games are set far into the future: 2020 at Minnesota and 2025 at Provo.
The 2020 game will be held at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sept. 26, and the 2025 contest will be played Sept. 20 at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
"We are excited to announce this series with Minnesota," BYU AD Tom Holmoe said in a school news release. "We are always looking for opportunities to schedule storied football programs like Minnesota. It will be a great experience for our coaches, players and fans to visit Big Ten country, and we look forward to hosting the Gophers at LaVell Edwards Stadium."
Minnesota's three-paragraph release also included an announcement about a series with Colorado for the Gophers, but did not include comments from the school's athletic administration.
It is a big deal in Provo, though, as the Cougars get a rare visit from a Big Ten school — albeit a long ways away.
The Big Ten's Wisconsin will visit BYU in 2017, and Michigan State will play at LaVell Edwards Stadium in 2020 in a return visit for the Oct. 8 game at East Lansing won 31-14 by BYU.
Before becoming independent in football, BYU had played only one regular-season contest against a Big Ten team, Wisconsin. They have now played Big Ten teams four times and have five additional games scheduled in the future.
Here is the 2020 BYU football schedule as presently constituted:
Sept. 5 — at Utah
Sept. 12 — Michigan State
Sept. 19 — at Arizona State
Sept. 26 — at Minnesota
Oct. 2 — Utah State
Oct. 10 — Open
Oct. 17 — at Boise State
Oct. 24 — at Northern Illinois
Oct. 31 — Open
Nov. 7 — Missouri
Nov. 14 — Open
Nov. 21 — Open
Nov. 28 — at Stanford
While we are at it, here's the 2017 BYU football schedule:
Sept. 2 — vs. LSU in AdvoCare Texas Kickoff at Houston's NRG Stadium
Sept. 9 — Utah
Sept. 16 — Wisconsin
Sept. 23 — Open
Sept. 29 — at Utah State
Oct. 7 — Boise State
Oct. 14 — at Mississippi State
Oct. 21 —at East Carolina
Oct. 28 — San Jose State
Nov. 4 — at Fresno State
Nov. 11 — at UNLV
Nov. 18 — UMass
Nov. 25 — at Hawaii
Note: NCAA rules allow for 13 games if a game is played at Hawaii, so technically the Cougars could add another game if they so desire.