Cougar fans worldwide enjoy Corona Fan Fest

BYUtv features Corona Fan Fest in special two-hour, on-site BYU Sports Nation

CORONA, Calif. — Fans from as far away as Maine and Singapore joined thousands of Cougar faithful in Southern California at the final of four spring BYU Fan Fest events conducted in Corona, California, on Saturday.

"It's great to be able to see the fans," BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake said. "I've said before that I was a fan before I was a coach and a fan before I was a player at BYU, so we have that connection. For many of the guys on our staff and a lot of our players, that's how they grew up and so it's nice to connect with our fans." 

As was the case at earlier Fan Fest events conducted in Las Vegas, Houston and Farmington, Utah, Cougar Nation turned out in the thousands to meet BYU coaches and athletes at Santana Regional Park in Corona. Sponsored by Stance, the three-hour event gave fans the opportunity to get autographs and take photos with the coaches and student-athletes, while enjoying festivities such as face painting, inflatable games, free posters, BYU prizes and a variety of food concessions, including fan favorites like BYU Creamery Ice Cream and Cougartails.

"We have the greatest fans in the nation," Nick Emery, a junior guard on the men's basketball team, said. "We play here in front of our fans in California, especially in the West Coast Conference, so it's fun to be here and to interact with them."

In addition to the fans in attendance, Cougar followers all over the world were able to witness and enjoy the Fan Fest thanks to a special two-hour BYU Sports Nation televised live from the event on BYUtv. Coach Sitake, linebackers coach Steve Kaufusi and football players Handsome Tanielu, Troy Warner and Butch Pau'u each were featured interview guests on the program along with Emery (men's basketball), Brenna Chase (women's basketball), Emily Lewis (women's volleyball), Jill Van Mierlo (women's gymnastics) and Danika Bowman (women's soccer). 

"It's so much fun and everbody is so nice," said Chase, a sophomore guard, about her first Fan Fest experience. "It's just good to meet everyone. It's a great time." 

In all, two dozen student-athletes from football, men's basketball, women's basketball, women's volleyball, women's soccer and gymnastics were on hand along with members of the BYU football staff, including offensive coordinator Ty Detmer. This is the fifth-straight year BYU has traveled to its fans to conduct Fan Fest events.

Corona Fan Fest Links:
BYU Sports Nation: BYU Fan Fest—Southern California
Video Recap
BYU Facebook Photo Album