Have We Heard the Last Anti-LDS Chant at BYU Sporting Events?

Tensions around religious chants directed at Brigham Young University have become a growing issue across the Big 12 Conference, prompting the league and its commissioner, Brett Yormark, to push harder to eliminate the behavior from college sports venues.

MOST RECENT OF MANY CASES

The most recent case came in February 2026 during a men’s basketball game between BYU and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. During the game in Stillwater, fans in the student section were heard chanting an anti-LDS slur directed at BYU players and their faith. After reviewing the incident, the Big 12 fined Oklahoma State University $50,000, citing violations of the conference’s sportsmanship policies. The league said it will not tolerate behavior that “targets or demeans others.”

ZERO-TOLERANCE STANCE

That penalty followed a similar situation just months earlier. In September 2025, the conference fined the University of Colorado-Boulder $50,000 after fans chanted a profanity directed at members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints during a football game against BYU at Folsom Field. The conference also issued a public reprimand and reiterated its zero-tolerance stance on discriminatory language.

ARIZONA & CINCINNATI NOT FINED

Other schools have faced controversy as well, though not all resulted in fines. Fans at the University of Arizona were heard chanting similar language during a basketball game in Tucson last season, and fans at the University of Cincinnati reportedly did the same during a 2025 football matchup with BYU. Both universities issued apologies, but the conference did not issue financial penalties in those cases.

HATEFUL CHANTS HAVE NO PLACE IN HE BIG12

For Yormark, the issue has become both personal and professional. The commissioner has repeatedly emphasized that hateful or discriminatory chants have no place in the Big 12, and conference officials say they are working with schools to improve crowd conduct and enforcement policies.

ONGOING CHALLENGE

With BYU now fully integrated into the conference schedule, the Big 12 faces an ongoing challenge: ensuring passionate college sports environments remain competitive without crossing the line into religious discrimination.