Home Care In Provo, UT

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PROVO — Few will argue with the fact that BYU is a unique institution that presents an extraordinary culture and community.

That same culture and community can prove polarizing to some, but to others, it presents an environment that is desirable to return to, and maybe even more so than any other institution out there.

Count Chris Burgess among the latter group.

Burgess was announced as a prominent addition to the new Cougars coaching staff led by Kevin Young last week. He joined ESPN radio recently to discuss his decision to leave his alma mater and to bring his coaching talents back to BYU.

Burgess was part of Mark Pope's staff at BYU from 2019-22 before taking a similar post at Utah, coaching under coach Craig Smith. So why return to Provo? What makes a seemingly lateral move by joining Young's staff the best option for Burgess and his family?

Burgess outlined three primary reasons in the interview, all of which played pivotal in making his decision.

Reestablishing relationships

Burgess isn't that far removed from coaching at BYU, and subsequently is very familiar with several players on the current roster, including Cougars big man Foussyeni Traore, with whom Burgess established a strong relationship.

"The reunion with Fouss — honestly you get choked up," Burgess said. "It's so difficult leaving people — good people, and to be able to come back for his senior year and have another impact on his life … that was one of the best things about coming back."

Burgess takes pride in developing big men, and was central to Traore's development during the early stages of his career. He'll assume that same role on Young's staff, but will also work with the entire team, several of whom he's already familiar with.

"There's guys in this locker room that I have relationships with," Burgess said. "I recruited them out of high school, or I coached them here, so the opportunity to be back and be a part of their lives again was another reason."

With regards to developing big men at BYU, Burgess' first focus is on the execution of an effective pick-and-roll on the offensive end, and then presenting himself as a strong and central focus on defense.

"The big (man) sees everything. He has to be your loudest guy,' Burgess said. "He's that guy who sees everything and has to communicate to everyone around him. … You don't want a quiet big."

Coaching under Kevin Young

In order to lure a coach to make a seemingly lateral move as an assistant it necessitates a unique offering. In Burgess' mind, the opportunity to coach under Young, and his inherent strengths coming from an NBA coaching background, was difficult to pass up.

"He has an NBA pedigree, but not only coaching in the NBA — he's been in the NBA draft rooms and the NBA workouts," Burgess said. "So it's the reputation he has, for all of those different reasons. So I got super excited to work for him."

Burgess soon saw that Young's impressive resume matched up well with what he was presented firsthand during the interview process, where he saw plainly how well they could work with one another. He was impressed with how Young is making his staff somewhat unique with the hiring of Doug Stewart, who will be Young's chief of staff, but also work in a similar role and function as an NBA general manager.

"I think that you're getting a head coach with a ton of passion and a ton of energy, and a ton of urgency," Burgess said. "He's doing everything he can to construct a college staff, but in an NBA way."

Young's first assistant coaching hire was Brandon Dunson, who came to BYU after coaching at Stanford for a couple of seasons.

"I got to compete against him during the last two years with him being at Stanford, and he just has the best reputation in terms of the relationship on the court and working with players. They all love him," Burgess said. "They all speak so highly about him, and in just my four or five days on the job I've seen just how driven he is."

Young stated his intent on bringing in assistants from the collegiate ranks, to help bridge whatever gap exists between his NBA knowledge and how college basketball operates. So far, with the additions of Burgess, Dunson and Stewart, he's largely accomplished that vision.

"I think Cougar Nation should be excited that coach Young is putting together a staff that is all in different roles to support him in this transition to this university and college basketball," Burgess said. "You want to surround yourself with people that work unreasonably hard and that they're intellectually curious, and that they're extraordinary teammates. I think you sprinkle in some passion with those things and you have something great. I'm finding that with the people that coach Young is hiring, and that's exciting to be a part of."

The Y. and BYU's environment

What put the cherry directly on top for Burgess was the opportunity to return to a BYU culture and community that he and his family enjoyed immensely and thrived in.

"My family always loved our time here in Provo during the three years that we were here with coach Pope, and his staff," Burgess said. "This place holds a special place in our hearts, and so when the opportunity came about to work for coach Young … I got super excited to learn from him.

"There's just a lot of reasons, but everything came down to (the fact) that this is the best place for my family to reunite with BYU and to make it part of our lives for the long term."

Throughout the process, Burgess has received several positive notes from Cougar fans, via email, direct messages on social media and otherwise, and has appreciated every single one of them.

"It's been super humbling, if I'm being honest, with the positivity, the text messages and direct messages I've (received) from the fan base welcoming me and my family back to Provo. It's just been very humbling," Burgess said. "It's another reason why I'm super excited to be here."

Criddle's conclusion:

When Young decided to leave the NBA as the highest-paid assistant coach and come to BYU, the basketball world was shocked. Why would he leave the NBA to come to BYU?

"Timing in life is everything and the NBA is great, and has a lot of amazing players," Young said at his introductory press conference. "But it's a hard lifestyle, and there's not a lot of stability in it. As a dad with three young children and a wife that has been doing this forever, the more we felt it was the best of three worlds."

Those three worlds: coaching at a high level (Big 12), being together as a family a bit more, and representing BYU and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while receiving the support of those institutions.

Burgess cited three similar factors that influenced him to leave his alma mater and return to coach at BYU, but as I read between the lines, I think there is even more to the story for both of these coaches.

BYU just hired the man as an assistant coach that the greater collective Cougars fan base wanted as their next head coach. Times have changed in Provo, ladies and gentlemen. For the last 14 years, Utah, among many other institutions, has been able to allocate more resources than BYU towards its coaching staff.

Why did Chris Burgess make a seemingly lateral move and why did the highest-paid NBA assistant coach come to coach at BYU in 2024? BYU is finally paying above market rate for its coaching staff.

Coupled with all of these aforementioned factors cited by both Burgess and Young, for most of Cougar country, this investment is long overdue. For many, it's like taking an ice-cold refreshing drink after wandering in the wilderness of independence and West Coast Conference affiliation for far too many years.

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Ben Criddle

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PROVO — A recent study from Authority lists Provo among the top cities for ChatGPT and artificial intelligence tool use.

Google Trends data and more than 450,000 geotagged posts from social media platform X from the last 12 months were sorted to find hot spots for AI-related searches and posts. Researchers scanned for keywords and phrases such as ChatGPT, Chat GPT, Gemini, AI writing, AI writing tools, Copilot AI, AI writing detector, AI content detector and more.

The results revealed what one perhaps could have guessed — AI is big on college campuses.

The Top 10 cities for AI use and interest are all major college towns. West Lafayette, Indiana, home to Purdue University, took the top spot, followed by College Park, Maryland.

Provo, and by extension, Brigham Young University, came in ninth.

"AI assistants are becoming incredibly popular in the workplace," BYU professor David Wingate said. "Of course, we will train our students to be successful with the tools they need in the workplace."

Wingate, who teaches computer science courses with a machine learning emphasis, said he was "a little bit surprised" by BYU's ranking. In his view, local interest in AI could be attributed to many factors.

"Maybe it's the (machine learning) major, maybe it's chatter among the students, maybe it's our research, or maybe it's a combination of all those things," he said.

Wingate also noted BYU's award-winning applied mathematics major, which has a strong machine learning concentration.

"I'm excited," he said. "I think AI can be used to make the world a better place. If we're thoughtful about it, it can bless people."

ChatGPT is quickly becoming an indispensable educational tool, on the same level as Microsoft programs like Word, Excel and Powerpoint, Wingate said. Students will need to have digital literacy with all of these tools to be successful.

Professor-assisted AI use

BYU senior Adam Rice, who studies computational biology, said he uses AI almost every day.

"I use ChatGPT and Gemini all the time for small questions, because it's faster than Googling things," he said. He turns to AI for questions both professional (how do I code this?) and personal (what recipe can I make with these ingredients?).

"I don't just copy and paste — I use it to help get me on my way," Rice said. "I ask it to synthesize and think about possible routes to take, or give me an outline."

In a software design class, Rice said the professor encouraged students to use ChatGPT and similar tools as often as possible.

"A lot of my professors think it's a good tool and think about how they can teach around it instead of just blocking it," he said.

In the computer science department, most professors are either neutral or positive toward ChatGPT, Wingate said.

"There's a cohort of professors who feel like, you know, this is the future, and we're fools not to embrace it," he said.

AI isn't exclusive to computer science courses — BYU English student Mason Scholes has also used ChatGPT in the classroom.

"We've done a lot of assignments with AI," Scholes said. "We'll be encouraged to play around with it … so we can use it to strengthen our writing and make sure we're not introducing new weaknesses."

This hands-on, professor-led AI use has helped him understand which situations call for AI and when he would be better off doing something himself, he said.

This approach aligns with Wingate's perspective: "I think it behooves every department in the university to teach students what the dangers of AI are, so they don't become overly reliant on AI," the professor said.

Many BYU students said they use ChatGPT in moderation. Elena Moran asks the chatbot to look over writing assignments for grammar and punctuation or to explain challenging concepts. Sometimes she uses it to create personal workout plans.

Biology student Jacob Hunter occasionally uses it to brainstorm ideas for his writing class.

Sophomore Grace Call said her philosophy classmates will ask ChatGPT how certain philosophers would respond to novel questions.

"There are all these pro-social applications of AI," Wingate said. "I hope we can remember the really positive possibilities."

Top cities for AI use and interest, according to the Authority study:

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New BYU head basketball coach Kevin Young hit home runs with his hiring of Stanford’s Brandon Dunson, Utah’s Chris Burgess and Nevada associate athletic director and veteran college coach Doug Stewart — and he’s not finished yet.

The new staff is focusing on recruiting as the transfer portal closes at the end of May and they’ve made contact with top-ranked high school players from across the country, setting the stage for a 2025 class. Both Burgess and Dunson have been zeroed in on BYU targets, and their forte is recruiting.

Question of the week: What should Kevin Young be looking for in his next staff hires?

Jay Drew: Kevin Young has done a masterful job in assembling his first coaching staff at BYU to date, getting Brandon Dunson from Stanford and Chris Burgess from the University of Utah. Both are excellent hires and check a lot of boxes. Certainly, Burgess’ close ties with local recruits will help BYU’s efforts in that regard. That ability probably can’t be overstated, because there are a couple of bumper crops coming through the Utah prep and all-star circuit ranks in the next few years.

Now Young should turn his attention to getting another coach with NBA ties so he can show he’s serious about developing players to compete at the next level. Personally, I would like to see current BYU assistant (under Pope) Nick Robinson get one of the spots, for continuity’s sake. Also because Robinson is a good person and has paid his dues.

Another possibility would be to find a coach with international ties, perhaps even a coach from Eastern Europe, which is now a basketball hotbed. Burgess played 11 seasons overseas, so he has some strong international experience as well.

Dick Harmon: It is very intriguing how Young is organizing his coaching staff. He explained to both Dunson and Burgess his goal is to use an NBA model with his staff, thus the creation of a “chief of staff” position and hire of Doug Stewart. With Stewart focusing on NIL and player development, I see a very individualized approach of giving each player specific attention on his needs to progress — a good selling point to recruits.

Burgess and Dunson are known as elite recruiters, which is key because of the restrictive nature of BYU admissions; they will have to get the right fit with prospects. It remains to be seen who will be in charge of the offense and defense. Young himself could take on a coordinator role because Stewart should have a lot of administrative duties.

I’d like to see Young retain Robinson, too, because of his knowledge of BYU’s unique operations, which Burgess also knows. The next hire could be a younger, entry-level person with an NBA, college or international background. I’m thinking a lot of Young’s coaching salary allotment has been tied up in hiring Burgess, Dunson and Stewart so far. If not, and he brings in someone who requires a big salary, it only adds to the groundbreaking moves made by the school’s administration.

BYU’s men’s and women’s track and field performers should produce strong results at the Big 12 outdoor championships in Waco, Texas, this week. Here is a preview of the meet. In women’s basketball, the Cougars added California shooting star Kemery Martin to the roster.

In football, BYU added transfer target offensive guard Austin Leausa from Southern Utah and USU, and he is projected to make a run for a starting job.

"Clearly there's more to offer here than where he was previously."@gregwrubell first thoughts on @chrisburgess34 move to BYU. pic.twitter.com/SkmjDOCg4j

— BYUtv Sports Nation (@BYUSportsNation) May 2, 2024

|@chrisburgess34 on why he decided to come back to BYU to be a part of Kevin Young's Coaching Staff"My family and I always loved our time here in Provo, for three years here with Coach Pope, and that wonderful staff and team. This place holds a special place in our hearts."… pic.twitter.com/8aroJ2x3FD

— Benjamin Criddle (@CriddleBenjamin) May 6, 2024

BYU's Jaxson Robinson invited to NBA draft combine; Congratulations to Jaxson! https://t.co/RqlCxvm8pW

— Jay Drew (@drewjay) May 3, 2024

Comments from Deseret News readers:

This is a big step up for Burgess in programs and salary. Kevin Young is a great tutor. If he is successful in recruiting and coaching, he will be a head coach somewhere.

— Owl

No argument from me on this article, as I heard the radio chatter about McCae. Year after year, we see starters being hurt and QB depth a huge factor in the second half of the season. Offensive line play is crucial to the success of the Cougars, to allow these QBs time and opportunity to produce. I just hope the coaches recognize and use the best talent, and don’t take an entire season to figure that out. McCae seems like Brandon Doman, discounted, thought of as perhaps a scatback or short receiver/returner in his day. Brandon was awesome when he finally got into the game.

— Epoint

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PROVO — BYU wasn't looking for another quarterback after wrapping up spring practices with no fewer than five capable signal callers on its roster and a QB1 competition between incumbent Jake Retzlaff and Baylor/USF transfer Gerry Bohanon.

But it's hard to put a price on experience — and that's exactly what McCae Hillstead had.

So as soon as the former Utah State starter hit the transfer portal after Iowa transfer Spencer Petras was named the starter in Logan ahead of Utah transfer Bryson Barnes, Hillstead had offers. Iowa, Cal and Mississippi State reached out, so did a handful of other power conference programs, as well as some top Group of Five teams.

But 10 days after declaring his transfer intent, the 5-foot-10 strong-armed quarterback from Skyridge High announced on social media that he had committed to BYU.

In the words of Gen Z, the vibes were immaculate between Hillstead, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick and quarterback analyst Matt Mitchell.

"Obviously, going into the transfer portal, you don't know exactly what is going to happen. It was pretty chaotic," Hillstead told ESPN radio in Utah County. "But after looking at some schools and talking with a lot of coaches, I got a good sense that this was a program I wanted to be in. These are definitely great guys I feel a lot of camaraderie with, and a team that I think I can succeed on."

Hillstead appeared in eight games as a true freshman with the Aggies, starting four while completing 59.5% of his passes for 1,062 yards and 11 touchdowns with eight interceptions — including a freshman-record 399 yards in a near-comeback effort against James Madison.

That kind of experience had plenty of programs taking notice of the transfer quarterback. It also led to a handful of takes on local sports radio from Logan to Provo, with several notable voices declaring Hillstead as the future — even if not present — starter at BYU.

One of those is his quarterback skills trainer, Dustin Smith of QB Elite, who has worked alongside Ty Detmer, Mark Brunell, Kurt Warner, Koy Detmer, Brandon Doman and Max Hall, among others.

"I think McCae is going to come in there and he's going to take the starting spot this year," Smith said. "He's gonna come in and turn heads right away."

In Hillstead, Smith sees similar qualities as former BYU starters Zach Wilson and Jaren Hall. Hillstead may even be faster than Hall, the current head coach at Spanish Fork High quipped.

"That's not to knock on the other guys that are there, but this kid, if he can stay healthy, he's a very unique talent who can do some things that he's done since he was a sophomore (in high school)," Smith said, referring to the group led by Retzlaff and Bohanon. "He's played in big-time games and he's clutch. He's so humble and he wants to learn. He wants to come see me two or three days a week, and he's driving down to Spanish Fork."

Experience is the ultimate teacher, and it can also be a strong separator. Hillstead has that in spades, who graduated early after winning a 6A state title at Skyridge and played sparingly during the Aggies' spring period while recovering from an ankle injury.

"But going into the summer, I got more familiar with the offense, and as I got into the swing of things in the season, our coach made a quick decision and put me in midway through the Air Force game," added Hillstead, a rising sophomore who also has a redshirt available. "I had some success my true freshman year and learned a lot. I think that's what you get from playing early."

The former Skyridge standout who grew up in Springville has also been working lately with former BYU standouts Jamal Willis and Smith Snowden on footwork, speed and agility drills.

Hillstead joins a quarterback group that also includes former Boise State quarterback Cade Fennegan, Western Michigan transfer Treyson Bourguet, walk-on returned missionary Cole Hagen and true freshman Noah Lugo, in addition to Retzlaff and Bohanon. Between Retzlaff, Bohanon, Fennegan, Bourguet and Hillstead, the group has more than 45 combined games of experience, as well as a Big 12 title and a Sugar Bowl.

Shortly after Hillstead made known his commitment, redshirt freshman Ryder Burton — a similarly touted recruit from the Class of 2023 out of Springville High — announced he was entering the portal. He joined walk-on Nick Billoups in looking for a new place to play.

If it feels like a quick escalation, perhaps it is. But in the era of the portal, schools and players often have less than a month to make a decision that high school recruits wander through for over a year.

"In high school, I think the bells and whistles are a lot more appealing," Hillstead said. "You get wined-and-dined on official visits. But when you play college football, it just comes down to ball. I knew when I entered the portal, that's what I was going to focus on.

"It's a short time, so I knew I had to have a few things to zero in on: the football, the coaches, the locker room environment of each of the schools that reached out. I asked those questions to each of the schools that recruited me, and I feel like I did my due diligence and felt like BYU was the best place for me to go."

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PROVO, Utah — BYU director of athletics Tom Holmoe has announced the hiring of Tamber McAllister as the Cougars’ swimming and diving head coach.

"I express my gratitude to Tom Holmoe and Chad Lewis for their belief in me," McAllister said. "It is an honor to serve as the head coach of swimming and diving as we continue to embark on our journey into the Big 12 Conference. The legacy established by previous BYU coaches has laid a strong foundation for the team's future success, and I am genuinely thankful for that. The unwavering pride and spirit of the Cougars is unparalleled, and I eagerly look forward to remaining a part of it."

While McAllister will oversee both the men's and women's swim and dive programs, Tyce Routson will continue in his role as head coach of the BYU men's and women's dive teams.

McAllister’s coaching career at BYU stretches back almost two decades through three different stints as an assistant coach. Most recently, McAllister worked as an assistant coach from 2021-2024 under now-retired head coach Shari Skabelund. McAllister also held an assistant coaching position with the Cougars from 2012-2018 and 2005-2011. These followed McAllister’s decorated BYU swimming career from 2000-2004.

The 2024 season saw McAllister help the Cougars navigate their inaugural Big 12 campaign. Despite the challenges posed by unprecedented competition, BYU swimmers combined to finish the 2024 Big 12 Championships with two individual champions and 24 all-conference honors. The BYU men finished third in the Big 12 while the women took fifth.

McAllister also had a hand in the BYU men’s historic success at the 2024 NCAA Championships. The Cougars set school records for swimming entries, at eight, and relay entries, with three. Each of McAllister’s most recent three seasons at BYU align with the first three-year stretch in program history where a men’s swimmer has qualified for NCAA Championships in three different events.

In 2024, the BYU men also registered their first team points and All-American honors since 2016.

"Tamber is ready and qualified to lead our swim and dive team with vision and energy," said Chad Lewis, BYU associate athletic director and swim and dive sport administrator. "We are very excited about the future of this program."

McAllister’s combined 16-year tenure as an assistant at BYU, includes her role in nine All-American performances and 49 individual conference championships along with eight team conference titles.

Cougar swimmers have set 37 school records under McAllister’s tutelage, 13 of which came in 2024.

McAllister’s vast assistant coaching experience is enhanced by three previous years of head coaching at Utah Tech (2018-2021). Following her first two stints as a BYU assistant, McAllister left Provo to accept Utah Tech’s women’s head coaching position.

McAllister led the Trailblazers to third-place finishes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in each of her first two seasons. The RMAC honored McAllister as its 2020 Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year. In 2021, McAllister oversaw Utah Tech’s transition to competing at the Division I level as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. McAllister concluded her tenure at Utah Tech with swimmers breaking over 70 program records.

In between assistant coaching roles at BYU, McAllister led the Wasatch Front Fish Market club team during the 2011-12 season. McAllister also coached for a season at East High School in Salt Lake City prior to returning to coach at BYU.

While a student athlete at BYU from 2000-2004, McAllister specialized in the breaststroke and garnered four Mountain West Conference Championships in the women’s 200 breast. Her career-best 200 breast time of 2:14.69, set in 2001, remains fifth all-time at BYU. Prior to putting on a BYU uniform, McAllister competed at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials where she finished 12th and 27th, respectively, in the 200 and 100 breast.

McAllister graduated from BYU in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science. A native of El Dorado Hills, California, McAllister and her husband, Eric, are the parents of four children.