Legendary BYU Football Coach, LaVell Edwards Dies at 86

Provo Utah — ​LaVell Edwards, the legendary head football coach at Brigham Young University for nearly 30 years, died Thursday, according to his wife, Patti. He was 86 years old.

According to his wife, Edwards broke his hip on Christmas Eve, which contributed to his death.

“I love LaVell Edwards. He came into my life, and the life of many others, at just the right time,” BYU director of athletics Tom Holmoe said in a press release. “I had the influence of a great coach, a wonderful person, a disciple of Christ, a loyal family man and a true friend, from the day I met him until the day he passed away. LaVell had a pure heart. He was the dream coach of every parent. His example will forever be with me and I will strive to live a life of love as he always did.”

Edwards became the pre-eminent sports figure in the state of Utah and one of the most highly regarded college football coaches in the country after molding a mediocre BYU program into one of the nation’s elite.

“LaVell not only changed the program but he changed a lot of lives,” current BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake said last year. “He’s a great man, very wise, but I think more than anything he is so humble and such a great example.

“I hope I can be just like him. There are a lot of great things about him that I love.”

Edwards compiled an overall record of 257-101-3 as BYU’s head coach from 1972-2000, including winning the 1984 national championship. His many accolades included twice earning National Coach of the Year honors (1979 and 1984).

His Cougar program boasted a Heisman Trophy winner (Ty Detmer, 1990), two Outland Trophy winners, seven Sammy Baugh Trophy winners, five Davey O’Brien Trophy winners, 34 All-Americans (including 10 consensus All-American performers), 11 conference player-of-the-year recipients and 24 Academic All-America player citations.