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Provo • BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said last January that he would slow down on scheduling future football games in the 2020s, but had something in the works for that decade that Cougar fans would probably enjoy.

On Thursday, that little hint was most likely realized, as BYU and the Big 12's Baylor announced they have agree to a home-and-home series. They will play at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, in 2021 and at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo in 2022. Specific dates will be announced at a later time.

"We are excited to have Baylor on our schedule again," Holmoe said in a school news release. "The last series between the two schools featured two legendary, hall of fame coaches in LaVell Edwards and Grant Teaff. Baylor is an exception football program and it is great to see the two schools competing again."

The series is tied 1-1, with Baylor winning 40-36 at home in 1983 and BYU winning 47-13 in Provo in 1984. After that 1983 loss at Baylor, the Cougars ran off 25 straight wins under Edwards.

Baylor's release notes that the games against BYU have been approved by Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby to be recognized as the equivalent of nonconference games vs. a Power 5 conference opponent.

"We are excited to set a home-and-home series with a tradition-rich, faith-based football program like BYU," Baylor AD Ian McCaw said. "This will be another strength of schedule enhancement and a high quality intersectional game that will be appealing to television and the fans of both programs."

The Bears also have a home-and-home agreement with Utah for 2023 and 2024. They finished the 2015 season ranked No. 13 and defeated North Carolina 49-38 in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

Baylor is the seventh addition to independent BYU's 2021 schedule. The Cougars are also scheduled to play Arizona (at Las Vegas), Arizona State, at South Florida, Boise State, Virginia and at USC.

In 2022, BYU is now scheduled to play at Oregon, at Boise State, at Stanford and at home against Baylor.

Twitter: @drewjay