Utah Football Player Sparks Religious Outrage By Kicking Through BYU’s Mormon Prayer At Holy War

Say what you will about Ohio State and Michigan, USC and UCLA, or Alabama and Auburn, but there is no rivalry in college football more intense than the one between Utah and BYU. It is called the Holy War for a reason.

This isn’t just about sports, it’s religion. Literally.

Thus, it was a very big deal when the Utes did not stop their warmup during the convocation prior to the college football game in Provo on Saturday. Their kicker just kept kicking.

The rivalry between Utah and BYU dates back to the 1800s.

Brigham Young, the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, actually founded both the University of Utah and Brigham Young University. The Cougars love to joke about how he only put his name on one of the two most prominent state schools for a reason.

The University of Utah was originally founded in 1850 by early settlers of the territory, led by Young. It was the University of Deseret. Deseret means “honeybee” in the language of the Jaredites in the Book of Mormon. The honeybee was chosen to symbolize industry and hard work.

Although the flagship university of the state now known as Utah was not operated by the LDS Church, it was aimed to promote education and civic development within the newly-established Mormon community. The institution aligned closely with the Church’s emphasis on self-sufficiency and learning, and on its overall values.

BYU, on the other hand, is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Originally founded as Brigham Young Academy in 1875 by Brigham Young himself, he wanted the university to be a place “at which the children of the Latter-day Saints can receive a good education unmixed with the pernicious atheistic influences that are found in so many of the higher schools of the country.” You don’t have to be of Mormon faith to go there but over 98% percent of the student population identifies as Mormon. So…

All of this goes to say that religion plays a big role in the origin of both Utah and BYU. Thus, the rivalry college football game is known as ‘The Holy War.’

And it gets intense! Urban Meyer once said, “It’s nasty.”

The Utes did not stop for the Cougars’ pregame prayer.

BYU held on to beat Utah by three points on Saturday. It was a hard-fought game between two heated rivals that ultimately came down to an onside kick attempt with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

However, the biggest storyline from this game actually comes from before the kickoff.

The Cougars start every single game with a prayer. For example: