Navigating chaotic college football, Kalani Sitake has his own style

Kalani Sitake has a voice he’s going to use. His tone is one of common sense and humility.

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

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 last week he hoped the voices of coaches would find an audience too.

“The 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,” Sitake told host David Smoak.

Sitake said college coaches have many conversations about pitfalls and worries in what could be a Pandora’s box with the transfer portal and NIL. “I think we’re getting a better handle on it,” he said.

“Coaches are committed to making it work and making it better and I’m happy to be part of that group.”

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

Sitake’s 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.

“It’s such an individual-by-individual case,” said Sitake on the podcast.

“I think the first thing I do as a head coach is thank them for what they’ve done for our program and appreciate them, and show them love that they deserve. I’m always going to cheer for them. I want them to do what’s best for them.

“I feel like we do have all the resources here for one to be their best, and if it doesn’t match with what they’re expecting, that’s OK,” he continued. “That’s part of college football nowadays. I can work with guys who want to be here. I always want what’s best for them, and I’ll 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.”

Most transfers are for playing time

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.

“I can understand that,” Sitake said. “I think the key is we just talk about it, and if we feel like it’s the best thing, then I encourage them to do it.”

Sitake said at the end of the season, position coaches and coordinators have interviews with players, and when it’s an exit interview, most players say, “Hey, coach, I’m just looking for other opportunities to play.”

Sitake said the key is to just face it, not hide from it.

“If they want to get in the portal, then so be it. I mean, that’s just the game. I do know that sometimes when people think the grass is greener on the other side, it usually doesn’t 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.”

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

“I’m open to feedback myself,” he said. “I want to know how I can do a better job and what I can do to improve. And so I don’t have a problem with being upfront with people and being direct, and I would want them to do the same.

“I know one thing I’m not good at, and that’s guessing how you’re feeling and what you’re thinking. If I were a mentalist, I would be doing something else. But I’m not. So I’m pretty simple,” he continued. “If you want something, and if you’re frustrated with something, I want to know about it, and if you’re willing to talk to me about it, then we can come to a conclusion of what’s best for all parties.

“But I think it’s important for me to give young men an opportunity to just hear them out and what they’re thinking. I think a lot of times feedback is a gift. It definitely is.”

Sitake said as a coach leads players there is nowhere it says you have to be mean to get your way.

“I believe in Christ as our Savior, and I’m 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,” he said. “I didn’t have a transfer portal when I played. I didn’t have all the things they have now, but I want to understand. It’s a learning process for me, too.”

BYU trying to navigate NIL

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

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 and Lone Peak lineman Bott Mulitalo, 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.

Managing NIL monster

Sitake said when NIL began, he didn’t 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 and included resources for walk-ons — which made national headlines.

Now, with roster reductions and the House Settlement looming, the entire NIL horizon is evolving with revenue sharing — P4 schools mandated to pay athletes to the tune of $21 million per year per school.

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.

“I 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,” he said. “They needed to think about themselves when they are older and have a family.

“I mean, imagine what it would mean if all of us could have started a retirement fund when we were 18? That’s a huge benefit for these young men. They need to learn how finances work and talk about taxes, because these guys don’t know anything about that.”

Sitake said proper counseling, financial information, guidance and expert advice for athletes became part of his approach.

“So, it’s 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,” he said. “A lot of it is creating a budget and living within their means. I don’t know if you really need a second video game console. That’s up to them, but if they do, maybe they aren’t watching (game) film or focusing on academics.”

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

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.

“I’m excited that student-athletes get to be paid. I’m not one of these guys that say because I didn’t have it, you can’t have it. I mean that’s technology and that’s grown and progressed. So, we’re 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.”

Sitake’s sincerity is good for the AFCA and his voice should carry some weight.

But back in the 1970s and ’80s, who would have thought college sports would bend so heavily under the burden of so much controversy?

From lawsuits to a feeble grasp on regulating the sport the NCAA once reigned over with a phone-book-thick set of guidelines, it’s a very different world.

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