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BYU offensive linemen Connor Pay and Blake Freeland talk during BYU’s football game at Navy in Annapolis, Maryland, Monday, Sept. 7, 2020.
NEW YORK — BYU center Connor Pay was named to the preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy for the third consecutive year on Friday. The trophy is given annually to the most outstanding center in NCAA Division I football.
The Rimington Trophy Committee worked closely with Pro Football Focus to narrow its preseason list to the 40 best centers in Division I football based on school nominations and extensive data from previous seasons provided by PFF.
Pay, a 6-foot-5, 300-pound senior from Alpine, Utah, has already been named to the 2024 Athlon Sports All-Big 12 Team and the East-West Shrine Bowl 1000 Watch List, which ranks the nation’s top NFL draft-eligible players for the upcoming season.
He was also recently named to the prestigious Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Watch List for the 2024 football season. Since 2005, the Wuerffel Trophy has been awarded annually to the college football player who best combines exemplary community commitment with leadership and performance on and off the field.
As a junior in 2023, Pay was named preseason All-Big 12 by Athlon Sports and Pro Football Focus. Following the 2022 season, he was selected to the College Network All-Independent First Team.
In addition to his success on the field, Pay also excels in the classroom, with a 3.84 GPA in business management. He was named CSC Academic All-District in both 2023 and 2024 and was selected to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team following the 2023 season.
The Rimington Trophy is named after Dave Rimington, a two-time consensus All-America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982. Rimington is also the only two-time winner of the John Outland Trophy, which is awarded annually to the best defensive lineman in college football.
At the end of the 2024 season, the Rimington Trophy Committee will use three prestigious All-America teams to determine a winner – Walter Camp Foundation, Sporting News and Football Writers Association of America. The center with the most votes on the first-team All-America team will receive the trophy.
As part of the National College Football Awards Association, which includes the most prestigious awards in college football, the Rimington Trophy will be unveiled live during the Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN on December 8.
Swimming and diving team publishes schedule
The BYU Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Association has announced its competition schedule for 2024-2025.
“We eagerly await the start of the 2024-2025 season,” said BYU head coach Tamber McAllister. “With a group of talented recruits arriving, returning missionaries and experienced athletes leading the way, we look forward to finding ways to increase the success of our program nationally and within the Big 12.”
The Cougars open the regular season on October 4 and 5 at the Colorado Mesa Intermountain Shootout in Grand Junction, Colorado.
After a three-way matchup at Texas A&M, BYU will host its first of three dual meets when UNLV comes to Provo on Nov. 2. Fans can also cheer on the Cougars at the Richards Building Pool in dual meets with UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 10 and Denver on Jan. 18. The regular season concludes Feb. 7 and 8 with the first intra-conference rivalry matchup between BYU and Utah since 2011. The 2025 edition of the annual rivalry matchup will be played at the Ute Natatorium in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Postseason competition begins with the 2025 Big 12 Swim and Dive Championships from February 25 to March 1 at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way, Washington.
BYU swimmers and divers will enjoy Federal Way well into March as it hosts the NCAA Zone E Diving Championships (March 10-12) as well as the NCAA Women’s Swim & Dive Championships (March 19-22) and Men’s Swim & Dive Championships (March 26-29).
Those swimmers who do not make it to the NCAA can compete in the CSCAA National Invitational Championship in Ocala, Florida, March 13-15.
“Each of these meets will help our athletes increase their individual contribution and find ways to improve and become more competitive,” McAllister said.
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