BYU to play Oregon, Crowton in Las Vegas

PROVO — Officially, it's known as the Pioneer Pure Vision Las Vegas Bowl. But over the next few weeks it will be referred to, unofficially, as the "Crowton Bowl" more than once.

Tuesday, BYU learned it will have a reunion with its former head coach, Gary Crowton, in the Dec. 21 Las Vegas Bowl. The Cougars will face Oregon, for which Crowton is the offensive coordinator.

Almost two years ago, Crowton resigned under pressure after leading BYU to three consecutive losing seasons. During that span, attendance at LaVell Edwards Stadium dwindled and a number of embarrassing, high-profile off-field scandals involving players tarnished the program's reputation. He posted a 26-23 record in four seasons at the helm in Provo.

Crowton stepped down Dec. 1, 2004 and less than two weeks later, BYU elevated defensive coordinator Bronco Mendenhall to head coach. It was Crowton who hired Mendenhall away from New Mexico as his defensive coordinator before the 2003 season.

"I acknowledge that there will be an interest in coach Crowton's relationship to our program," Mendenhall said. "I have the deepest respect for coach Crowton. I admire him and his family at the highest level. He is a dear friend and I am grateful for the opportunities he has provided me throughout my coaching career. I'm thrilled and not surprised by the success Oregon's offense is having under coach Crowton's direction."

Crowton and Mendenhall have been longtime friends, since Crowton was an assistant coach at Snow Junior College and Mendenhall was a player there in the mid-1980s. The pair coached together at Louisiana Tech in 1997 as well.

While many of BYU's key players are the same, the program is in a much different place than it was two years ago. Mendenhall has guided the Cougars to an outright Mountain West Conference championship, a 10-2 record, a No. 20 national ranking and a nine-game winning streak.

Prior to this season, Crowton was the last BYU head coach to lead it to a league title. That was in 2001, when Crowton piloted the Cougars to a 12-2 mark overall.

Last year, there was a similar Las Vegas Bowl story line as BYU played California. Cougar athletic director Tom Holmoe was the Golden Bears' head coach for five seasons before resigning in 2001.

Crowton is in his second season calling the Ducks' offensive plays.