{"id":5487,"date":"2025-04-27T23:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-27T23:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/5487\/"},"modified":"2025-04-27T23:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T23:27:10","slug":"how-kalani-sitake-navigates-ncaa-landscape-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/5487\/","title":{"rendered":"How Kalani Sitake navigates NCAA landscape \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kalani Sitake<\/a> has a voice he\u2019s going to use. His tone is one of common sense and humility.<\/p>\n

College football is like a three-ring circus these days and from Sitake\u2019s perch<\/a> as a member of the board of directors for the American Football Coaches Association, BYU\u2019s head coach would like common sense to rule.<\/p>\n

Conference commissioners, TV executives, university presidents and athletic directors, and our American court system have loud voices, but Sitake told Waco, Texas, SicEm 365 podcast<\/a> last week he hoped the voices of coaches would find an audience too.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Special Collector’s Issue: “1984: The Year BYU was Second to None”<\/p>\n

Get an inclusive look inside BYU Football’s 1984 National Championship season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key for me was just making sure that the coaches are heard in our profession. Our job is to care about the student-athlete first. And I know we all get paid to win games and do those things, but when you talk to coaches, we got into this business because we care about young people, specifically about young men that play football,\u201d Sitake told host David Smoak.<\/p>\n

Sitake said college coaches have many conversations about pitfalls and worries in what could be a Pandora\u2019s box with the transfer portal and NIL. \u201cI think we\u2019re getting a better handle on it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoaches are committed to making it work and making it better and I\u2019m happy to be part of that group.\u201d<\/p>\n

This past week Sitake had two starters, All-American kickoff returner Keelan Marion<\/a> and middle linebacker Harrison Taggart<\/a>, enter their names in the transfer portal. There are also nearly a dozen other BYU players who have entered the portal.<\/p>\n

Sitake\u2019s approach to his players leaving for the transfer portal is more like being a favorite uncle than a coach who is mired in recruiting warfare.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such an individual-by-individual case,\u201d said Sitake on the podcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the first thing I do as a head coach is thank them for what they\u2019ve done for our program and appreciate them, and show them love that they deserve. I\u2019m always going to cheer for them. I want them to do what\u2019s best for them. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we do have all the resources here for one to be their best, and if it doesn\u2019t match with what they\u2019re expecting, that\u2019s OK,\u201d he continued. \u201cThat\u2019s part of college football nowadays. I can work with guys who want to be here. I always want what\u2019s best for them, and I\u2019ll cheer for them when they play somewhere else, except when we play them. But I do want them to know the energy and effort they put in here is appreciated, and I love them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most transfers are for playing time<\/p>\n

Sitake said in his experience, there are different reasons for players to enter the portal, but in most conversations he has, the athlete just wants to be on the field more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can understand that,\u201d Sitake said. \u201cI think the key is we just talk about it, and if we feel like it\u2019s the best thing, then I encourage them to do it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sitake said at the end of the season, position coaches and coordinators have interviews with players, and when it\u2019s an exit interview, most players say, \u201cHey, coach, I\u2019m just looking for other opportunities to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sitake said the key is to just face it, not hide from it. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf they want to get in the portal, then so be it. I mean, that\u2019s just the game. I do know that sometimes when people think the grass is greener on the other side, it usually doesn\u2019t mean it works out that way. I want to be able to help them come to what they want. I want to know the reasons they leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hosts asked Sitake if he believed it was important to be approachable with an open door kind of relationship with players and staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m open to feedback myself,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to know how I can do a better job and what I can do to improve. And so I don\u2019t have a problem with being upfront with people and being direct, and I would want them to do the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know one thing I\u2019m not good at, and that\u2019s guessing how you\u2019re feeling and what you\u2019re thinking. If I were a mentalist, I would be doing something else. But I\u2019m not. So I\u2019m pretty simple,\u201d he continued. \u201cIf you want something, and if you\u2019re frustrated with something, I want to know about it, and if you\u2019re willing to talk to me about it, then we can come to a conclusion of what\u2019s best for all parties. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think it\u2019s important for me to give young men an opportunity to just hear them out and what they\u2019re thinking. I think a lot of times feedback is a gift. It definitely is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sitake said as a coach leads players there is nowhere it says you have to be mean to get your way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe in Christ as our Savior, and I\u2019m trying to follow his example. I think you do that by being sincere and trying to understand where they are coming from, their point of view and differences,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t have a transfer portal when I played. I didn\u2019t have all the things they have now, but I want to understand. It\u2019s a learning process for me, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

BYU trying to navigate NIL<\/p>\n

How has NIL impacted the way he recruits and has managed players and rosters over the past few years? Well, Sitake said he\u2019s learning just like everyone else. He just wants to educate himself and it\u2019s been a process he\u2019s still adapting to.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, Sitake has received commitments from several highly sought-after high school recruits in the class of 2026, including Pine View tight end Brock Harris<\/a> and Lone Peak lineman Bott Mulitalo<\/a>, who flipped from Oregon. According to 247Sports, BYU has climbed to No. 33 in recruiting rankings for that class with just seven commitments, the latest one Lehi receiver Legend Glasker<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Managing NIL monster<\/p>\n

Sitake said when NIL began, he didn\u2019t panic but tried hard to understand how it worked and how it could fit into the culture and what he wanted to accomplish as a team. This brought on a team-wide approach with Built Brands<\/a> and included resources for walk-ons \u2014 which made national headlines.<\/p>\n

Now, with roster reductions and the House Settlement<\/a> looming, the entire NIL horizon is evolving with revenue sharing \u2014 P4 schools mandated to pay athletes to the tune of $21 million per year per school.<\/p>\n

Sitake said he saw the benefit of players earning money that would change their college lives, but he saw it as an opportunity to make those changes impact a lifetime.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to still focus on education and to learn how money could really be beneficial in the future and that, right now, the purchases they wanted to make may not be the wisest,\u201d he said. \u201cThey needed to think about themselves when they are older and have a family. <\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, imagine what it would mean if all of us could have started a retirement fund when we were 18? That\u2019s a huge benefit for these young men. They need to learn how finances work and talk about taxes, because these guys don\u2019t know anything about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sitake said proper counseling, financial information, guidance and expert advice for athletes became part of his approach. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it\u2019s opening a whole new world to them of different things, how to be responsible, that instant gratification now in spending may not be the wisest thing,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of it is creating a budget and living within their means. I don\u2019t know if you really need a second video game console. That\u2019s up to them, but if they do, maybe they aren\u2019t watching (game) film or focusing on academics.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to a 2009 Sports Illustrated article,<\/a> 78% of NFL players are either bankrupt or under financial stress within two years of retirement. Professional athletes face financial ruin <\/a>at an alarming rate. <\/p>\n

Sitake said the biggest issue these days is understanding rules, regulations, what NIL truly is. Is it name, image and likeness or pay for play? With revenue sharing, all athletes are going to receive a salary. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited that student-athletes get to be paid. I\u2019m not one of these guys that say because I didn\u2019t have it, you can\u2019t have it. I mean that\u2019s technology and that\u2019s grown and progressed. So, we\u2019re in a really good spot. Our focus in getting into high school and college is education, and we should be educating them now in NIL and finances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sitake\u2019s sincerity is good for the AFCA and his voice should carry some weight.<\/p>\n

But back in the 1970s and \u201980s, who would have thought college sports would bend so heavily under the burden of so much controversy? <\/p>\n

From lawsuits to a feeble grasp on regulating the sport the NCAA once reigned over with a phone-book-thick set of guidelines, it\u2019s a very different world.<\/p>\n

\"\"BYU head coach Kalani Sitake greets fans prior to the Cougars’ game against UCF on Oct. 26, 2024 in Orlando. | BYU Photo <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kalani Sitake has a voice he\u2019s going to use. His tone is one of common sense and humility.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5488,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,49,48,3309],"class_list":{"0":"post-5487","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-news-feed-local"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114412522753587020","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}