The BYU Cougars and the Arizona Wildcats have announced a change in their future football series as well as the addition of two more games for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
In April of 2013, BYU and Arizona announced a three-game football series. The first game is scheduled for Sept. 3, 2016 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, while the second game is slated for Tucson on Sept. 1, 2018.
The third game was previously scheduled for Sept. 12, 2020 in Provo, but it has now been moved to Sept. 4, 2021 and it will be played in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Arizona and BYU have also added two future matchups. The two schools will meet at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Sept. 12, 2026 and then the following season at Arizona Stadium in Tucson on Sept. 11, 2027.
In their last meeting in 2008, Arizona defeated BYU 31-21 in the Las Vegas Bowl. Arizona leads the overall series 12-9-1, but the last four games have been an even split.
Football Schedules
Disappointing to see the 2020 home game change to a neutral game in 2021 in Las Vegas with no explanation. Instead of N/H/H the series is now N/Away/N/Home/Away. Where in Vegas are they playing? And what caused the change in the series?
BYU scheduled the Provo game of the Michigan St. series for the same September 12, 2020 date as the Cougars had originally contracted with Arizona. IMO, the Glendale and Las Vegas games will be true neutral-site games. If anything, they favor BYU.
I’m thinking that the Las Vegas neutral-site game will be played at Sam Boyd or the yet-to-be built MLS stadium in Las Vegas.
Rather than focusing on and complaining about perceived injustice of the single Arizona series, I like to look at the resulting schedules:
2016 –
Home: UCLA, Utah St., UMass, Southern Miss;
Neutral: Arizona, West Virginia
Road: Utah, Michigan St., Boise St., Cincinnati
2020 –
Home: Michigan St., Missouri
Road: ASU, Boise St., N. Illinois, Stanford
2021 –
Home: ASU, Boise St.
Neutral: Arizona
Road: USF, USC
Other games in Provo over the next several seasons: Utah, USC, Wisconsin, Washington, Stanford, California, etc.
That’s 100 times better than anything BYU was ever able to put together per-Independence.
Byu’s scheduling is terrible.
Would have loved to see AZ in Provo before the second H/H series. Unfortunately, Mich St took the date. Scheduling as an independent is pretty grueling. Holmoe is doing a good job getting good games.
BYU’s schedules as we get to the end of this decade and into the next are creeping toward a majority P5 opponents, or at least 50-50. It will be interesting to see if their status gets reconsidered early in the next decade.
2018 looks legit. Three straight PAC 12 squads in addition to a neutral with WVU and road games with Michigan State and Boise to follow that up in the first seven weeks of the season….Sure beats a “neutral site”game three hours away against a team twelve hours away and then Coastal Africa and Central Wipe-My Ass For Me State………If they win out. They belong in the playoff.
They will be lucky to win 2 of those 5 games.
Being an Indy they have to get those P5 games early as they are harder to schedule later during the conference season, which really puts them at a disadvantage as they can never ease into a season. They just don’t carry the same clout as ND. Wonder when/if they will suspend their rule of not playing on Sundays so could get a BigXII invite.
Will never happen for Sunday sports…the Church just won’t ever allow that.