 BYU has 21 NCAA varsity teams . Nineteen of these teams played mainly in the Mountain West Conference from its inception in 1999 until the school left that conference in 2011 . Prior to that time BYU teams competed in the Western Athletic Conference . All teams are named the " Cougars " , and Cosmo the Cougar has been the school 's mascot since 1953 . The school 's fight song is the Cougar Fight Song . Because many of its players serve on full @-@ time missions for two years ( men when they 're 18 , women when 19 ) , BYU athletes are often older on average than other schools ' players . The NCAA allows students to serve missions for two years without subtracting that time from their eligibility period . This has caused minor controversy , but is largely recognized as not lending the school any significant advantage , since players receive no athletic and little physical training during their missions . BYU has also received attention from sports networks for refusal to play games on Sunday , as well as expelling players due to honor code violations . Beginning in the 2011 season , BYU football competes in college football as an independent . In addition , most other sports now compete in the West Coast Conference . Teams in swimming and diving and indoor track and field for both men and women joined the men 's volleyball program in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation . For outdoor track and field , the Cougars became an Independent . Softball returned to the Western Athletic Conference , but spent only one season in the WAC ; the team moved to the Pacific Coast Softball Conference after the 2012 season . The softball program may move again after the 2013 season ; the July 2013 return of Pacific to the WCC will enable that conference to add softball as an official sport . 
