This level of commitment did not appear to be there when Pope was coaching. He was constantly talking about NIL and the need to get more NIL money, and that was holding them back in recruiting. He had a better than expected year, but I never heard a whisper of extending him, giving him a huge raise and increasing the investment in basketball at the time. Similar to what they are facing with Kalani. Why pay a coach more than he is worth based on the results.

As is well documented, BYU sports has to operate in the black. The BOT will not let them get into debt. When Pope left, it allowed BYU to flex its muscles on the new money coming in, because they have been fiscally responsible forever. They have done so much with less money that it does not surprise me it frees them up for big contracts and huge commitment in the basketball program.

If Kalani were to be fired, or move on, I believe we would see the same level of commitment and investment in the football program.