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BYU provided a statement to viral rumors surrounding its AD.
BYU is scrambling to shut down wild rumors surrounding its athletic director, Brian Santiago. Claims surfaced over the weekend that he’d been fired.
The school cleared the air with an update through an unexpected source. That message was posted to a popular Cougars message board rather than through official media outlets.
Brian Santiago is still employed by the university. There is no truth to the rumors of his canning.
Who is Brian Santiago?
The AD was called upon to replace Tom Holmoe, who retired after the 2024-2025 school year. Santiago has strong ties to the university. He’s been a part of the athletic department since 1997.
Santiago grew up in Utah and was an all-state performer on the Provo High School basketball team. He went onto play for then-WAC rival Fresno State in college.
Santiago averaged 10.7 points per game as a senior with the Bulldogs. He later got his MBA at BYU in 2001.
The former hooper got into coaching after wrapping up his playing career. He was on staff with the Cougars in 1997 alongside Steve Cleveland. He transitioned into athletic administration with the school a few years later, where he’s remained since.
In May of 2025, Santiago was named BYU’s AD. There was some backlash to the initial hire.
“This is a very dark day for BYU athletics,” one social media user wrote after learning of the promotion. “We have hired the worst possible candidate I could imagine as our athletic director. I intend to share publicly everything I know about Brian Santiago. It has the potential to destroy BYU Athletics.”
The alleged dirty laundry was never publicly aired. Still, smoke continues to follow Santiago’s status with the university.
BYU did not fire its athletic director.
Brian Santiago fired if the rumors I’m hearing are true this is gonna be wild
— James (@Jamesjimmyjimm) August 9, 2026
While there were no legitimate sources reporting on the firing, the rumor mill ran wild with false claims. Popular Utah social media accounts began fueling the fire. The Cougars worked quickly to control the damage.
BYU athletic administration created a profile on Cougar Board, the largest BYU message board on the internet. It provided an update on the situation.
“Lots of rumors swirling around here today,” a post read. “I just want to officially confirm that Brian Santiago’s employment status with the university has not changed. He is still the AD.”
Here’s something you don’t see every day.
BYU’s official comms team signed up for an account on the largest BYU message board to respond to rumors about the school’s AD. pic.twitter.com/LMYZqzcFxH
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) August 9, 2026
The statement goes onto detail Santiago’s presence at a recent BYU soccer game. That note came from Associate AD Jon McBride.
Co-worker Tyson Hutchins confirmed that the school created the message board profile earlier this year as an avenue of communication with the fanbase. This situation, which Hutchins called “ridiculous,” demanded an immediate clarification from the department.
This ridiculous situation aside….
Can confirm, earlier this year we worked with Cougarboard to create official accounts for Athletics and Cougar Club.
The reasoning is pretty simple… As communication channels become increasingly fragmented, we want the ability to meet fans…
— Tyson Hutchins (@tysonhutchins) August 9, 2026
The source of the rumor is still unknown. It could’ve been an angry BYU supporter, or maybe a rival Utah fan. No reasoning was given to support the supposed firing. All claims were false, according to the school.
Fans fanned the flames despite a lack of evidence. It forced BYU to make a public rebuttal through an unlikely source. Not many universities have official profiles on fan message boards. The Cougars have deemed it necessary in hopes of shutting down situations like this one.
Thoughts on Brian Santiago aside, the athletic department has thrived under his guidance. The football team went 12-2 last year and was able to fend off a push from Penn State to retain head coach Kalani Sitake.
The basketball program, meanwhile, won 23 games and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season in 2026. Recruiting success is at an all-time high, as is NIL support.
As a whole, the school finished No. 25 in the Learfield Directors’ Cup Division I standings. That ranking accounts for all programs within the department.
There have been controversies under Santiago, most notably those surrounding football players Jake Retzlaff and Parker Kingston. While both of those legal cases were dismissed, neither player remained a member of the program after their run-ins.
For now, Brian Santiago’s job is safe. He is still the BYU AD. The school made it a point to clear the air. It should quiet any noise for the time being.