USU and locker room history

Back in the day, media used to be allowed in all college football locker rooms. Not so any more.

On Friday night, both USU’s and BYU’s locker rooms were closed, as per policy. Media relations people instead brought players into an interview room.

Still, standing outside the USU locker room after the Aggies’ loss to BYU took me back to 1983.

That was the year Steve Young scored from the 1-yard line in the final minute to give the Cougars a 38-34 win. I still remember Young gritting his teeth and piling his way into the end zone. I was standing on the field at the goal line. Afterward, I went into the USU locker room to get some quotes. Suddenly an Aggie assistant coach started loudly complaining to me about the media never being there when they won (untrue), but showing up for crushing losses. Of course, he didn’t say it quite so delicately as I am putting it.

After a minute of listening to his rant, I told the coach the media didn’t have anything to do with his team losing. That got him started on a second rant. He was getting pretty worked up until p.r. personnel and coaches intervened.

The following Monday the assistant coach called me to apologize. Nice of him. Of course, it might have had something to do with the fact I had called USU’s athletic administration to complain. Nowadays I doubt I would have bothered to complain. And I doubt any coach would have been told to apologize.

Anyway, by 2011 there was no longer any locker room access — which in hindsight might be a good idea after all.