More than two weeks after Bronco Mendenhall departed Brigham Young University for Virginia on Dec. 4, BYU announced Saturday that it had hired Oregon State defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake as its next head coach.
The decision comes after days of speculation. It followed a courtship of Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo, which ended Wednesday when Niumatalolo declined an offer. Sitake, who played fullback at BYU and graduated from the school in 2000, became the next target.
BYU fell to Utah 35-28 at the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday afternoon. Not long after the game, the school officially announced Sitake as its next coach and he tweeted a three-part message within an hour of the official announcement.