PROVO, Utah — Kalani Sitake has had some memorable moments with Brigham Young University, but a victory over then-No. 2 Notre Dame inside Lavell Edwards Stadium might be the signature win of his entire career.
Sitake played fullback for the Cougars, graduating in 2000. He's climbed the coaching ranks and led the team since 2015. To him, last night just meant more.
"Why do I get to be the one that gets to be the head coach during this and have the best seat in the house?" Sitake humbly reflected on his mindset after defeating the Fighting Irish. "I just had a lot of really good people around me that sacrifice for me to be here. I'm the result of a lot of other people's hard work and sacrifice. Even though there's a fan part of me, I just need to make sure that I follow through as a coach and that I don't jeopardize all the sacrifices that other people have made for me."
No matter the adversity that has been thrown Sitake or BYU's way, the head coach has decided to "dance" his way through it. If you're in the stadium early enough, you would watch Sitake do his pregame dance in front of the student section that cheers him on.
He brings an immense amount of joy to his job and to the team, who have taken note. That joy was rewarded on Saturday night.
"Coach Kalani (Sitake) not only makes everybody a better player, but he makes you a better person, a better young man," BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier said. "Why would you not want to play your heart out for Kalani, for BYU, I mean for these guys."
Sitake takes pride in his team's mindset, as the brotherhood is front and center with the squad.
"I love the fact that we have a bunch of guys that are ready to play and when they don't get the opportunity to play, they're so happy for their brothers that make plays on the field," Sitake said. "It was a lot of fun. This is a very close team, and these guys love each other, man. I'm just going to not try to get in the way of all that."