Utah – One of the biggest shockers of the college football season came last night, as BYU upset Notre Dame in the rambunctious city of Provo. A failed QB spike, a (debatably) missed PI call at the end, one potential last-second on the clock, and a strong BYU performance likely factored into Notre Dame’s first loss of the season. Less discussed is how elevation could have factored into the match.
Last Friday night, Utah County Commissioner and BYU fan Skyler Betran caught an interesting sight at the Deer Valley East Village. An equipment truck was seen exiting the Deer Valley East Village. I feel sympathy for the driver who had to drive through the roundabout before the video was recorded. This means that the team was likely staying at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley, which opened in late 2024.
But was this the right decision by Notre Dame? Notre Dame’s elevation peaks at 732 feet. Playing at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo puts you at 4,649 feet. With Deer Valley East Village’s base elevation at 6,530 feet (not factoring in how high the hotel rooms were), that’s a drastic change for athletes to go back up and down in a short timeframe.
I’m not a sports scientist by any stretch, but arriving in Utah, then traveling up thousands of feet to your overnight stay, then driving back down to a high-elevation location is a challenge for any athlete. Altitude sickness is real, even if they tried drinking beet juice to reduce its impact.
Anyways, go Utes.
Image/Video Credits: Skyler Beltran
