Kalani Sitake
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Current position | |
| Title | Head Coach |
| Team | BYU |
| Conference | Independent |
| Record | 0–0 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | October 10, 1975 Nukuʻalofa, Tonga |
| Alma mater | BYU |
| Playing career | |
| 1994, 1997–2000 | BYU |
| Position(s) | fullback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2001 | Eastern Arizona College (DB, ST) |
| 2002 | BYU (GA) |
| 2003 | Southern Utah (RB, TE) |
| 2004 | Southern Utah (OL, TE) |
| 2005–2008 | Utah (DL) |
| 2009–2011 | Utah (DC, LB) |
| 2012–2014 | Utah (AHC, DC) |
| 2015 | Oregon State (AHC, DC) |
| 2016–current | BYU |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 0–0 (.000) |
| Bowls | 0–0 |
Kelaokalani Fifita "Kalani" Sitake (born October 10, 1975 in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga) has been the head football coach at Brigham Young University (BYU) since December 2015.[1][2] Sitake is the first Tongan to become a collegiate football head coach.[3] Sitake played college football as a fullback at BYU, under coach LaVell Edwards and graduated in 2000.
Early life
Sitake was born in Tonga. His family immigrated to the United States when he was a child, living in Laie, Hawaii. He also went to high school in Kirkwood, Missouri.
Coaching career
Sitake got his start as an assistant coach during the 2001 season when he worked as the defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator at Eastern Arizona College. In 2002, he returned to his alma mater, BYU, as a graduate assistant for the defense. From 2003 to 2004, he worked at Southern Utah University. During the 2003 season, he was the running backs and tight ends coach; he coached the offensive line and tight ends during the 2004 season.
His tenure at the University of Utah started in 2005, where he coached the linebackers, until being promoted to defensive coordinator on December 7, 2008. His formal duties began on January 3, 2009. Sitake became the first native Tongan named as a defensive coordinator at an NCAA FBS school, following the resignation of the previous defensive coordinator, Gary Andersen.[4]
On December 23, 2014, Oregon State University announced Sitake's hiring as the team's new defensive coordinator and Assistant Head Coach.[5] This reunited Sitake with Oregon State's head coach, Andersen, whom Sitake had previously worked with at Utah.
On December 19, 2015, after Bronco Mendenhall coached BYU for the final time in the Las Vegas Bowl, BYU named Sitake as the team's new head coach.[6]
Personal life
Sitake is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[7] After his freshman year at BYU in 1994, Sitake served an LDS mission in the California Oakland Mission.[8] He has a bachelor's degree in English from BYU. He and his wife, Timberly, are the parents of three children.[9]
References
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- ↑ Salt Lake Tribune article on Sitake
- ↑ BYU athletics bio of Sitake
- ↑ University of Utah bio of Sitake
- ↑ http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/14399087/byu-cougars-agree-kalani-sitake-become-next-head-coach
External links
- Use mdy dates from December 2015
- Infobox college coach articles with small text
- 1975 births
- American football running backs
- Living people
- People from Tongatapu
- Tongan players of American football
- BYU Cougars football coaches
- Oregon State Beavers football coaches
- Southern Utah Thunderbirds football coaches
- Utah Utes football coaches
- BYU Cougars football players
- Tongan emigrants to the United States
- Tongan Latter Day Saints
- American Latter Day Saints
- American Mormon missionaries in the United States
