Brigham Young University Athletic Photographs, 1893-1989 (UA 1029)

Athletics has been an important part of the Brigham Young University experience since the early 1890s. Competitive athletics developed under the direction of Brigham Young Academy principal Benjamin Cluff. Cluff had attended the University of Michigan for graduate school and had seen their extensive athletic programs. He strongly believed that athletics was an important complement to academic life. The first athletic team at Brigham Young Academy was the baseball team in 1891.

Brigham Young University's 1908 baseball team.

Football followed in 1896, track and field began in 1899, and basketball got its start in 1900. Additional athletic teams were added over the course of the twentieth century.

The Brigham Young University Archives holds a number of collections that document the growth of the university’s athletic programs. One of those collections is the Brigham Young University Athletic photographs, 1893-1989 (UA 1029). This collection contains photographs of numerous university athletic teams including: baseball, basketball, boxing, football, golf, hockey, skiing, soccer, swimming, volleyball, and tennis. A finding aid for the collection is available here.

If you would like to know more about the collections documenting athletics at Brigham Young University, contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu