With the summer halfway gone and the start of fall training jumps only a couple of weeks away, it's never too early to start mapping out one's sports calendars.

And as they enter their respective 2006 seasons, the fall sports teams at Brigham Young University and Utah Valley State College will be looking to build upon last year's successes.

The BYU women's volleyball team ripped off a 20-0 start and a No. 12 national ranking en route to the 2005 regular-season Mountain West Conference title. The BYU women's soccer team mirrored the successes, starting off 11-0-1 and reaching a No. 6 ranking while contending for the league championship. Both squads suffered early exits in the NCAA postseason and will be looking to take the proverbial next step this fall.

Also, the BYU cross-country teams claimed more conference crowns — the 18th straight for the Cougar women and the eighth title in the past nine years for the Cougar men — en route to the NCAA Championships. There, BYU finished eighth of its 11th consecutive finish in the nation's top 10, while the BYU men placed 13th overall.

Meanwhile, the UVSC women's volleyball team returns eight players from its 2005 Division I Independent Championship, while the Wolverines' women's soccer squad returns after reaching the championship match of the first-year United Soccer Conference last year.

And then there is the valley's marquee sport: BYU football. The Cougars will be looking to build upon last year's first non-losing season in a half-decade and Vegas Bowl invitation.

Schedules may change as the seasons approach, but these are the dates, opponents, sites and times as released to date or posted on school sports information sites.

BYU football

Here's the numbers on the Cougars' 2006 schedule — 12 total games, six home games, five contest against opponents who were '05 bowl participants and two Thursday night games.

The season kicks off Sept. 2 against old regional foe Arizona in a pairing for the first time in nearly 30 years, when the two were still Western Athletic Conference rivals.

The Cougars open their home slate the following week against another — albeit more recent — WAC opponent in Tulsa, which won the 2005 Liberty Bowl over Fresno State.

BYU travels to Massachusetts for a Sept. 16 game at Boston College, which came to Provo for last year's season opener. The Golden Eagles defeated Boise State in last year's MPC Computers Bowl for its sixth consecutive bowl victory.

Back in Provo the following week to conclude its non-conference schedule, BYU faces Utah State for the first time since 2002 in the 84-year rivalry.