# Is Steve Sarkisian mormon? Source: https://christianpure.com/learn/steve-sarkisian-mormon/ Publisher: Christian Pure (https://christianpure.com/) Published: 2026-02-12 Updated: 2026-10-26 No. Steve Sarkisian, head football coach at the University of Texas since 2021, is Catholic. He played quarterback at Brigham Young University, the university of [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints](https://christianpure.com/learn/latter-day-saints-vs-mormon/), in 1995 and 1996, but he did not join the church. So for two seasons he was a Catholic among Latter-day Saints, a quarterback from Torrance in a locker room where many of his teammates shared a faith he did not. He was there, in his own words, "to win games and get a degree." He also spoke of the faith around him with deep respect. ## What religion is Steve Sarkisian? Newspapers that have covered him describe him as Catholic. In a December 2008 profile, after the University of Washington hired him as head coach, *The Seattle Times* quoted him on why he chose BYU: "I wasn't LDS [he's Catholic], but I wanted to go somewhere where the focus would be on football and just getting my degree." The words in brackets are the newspaper's. The same paper wrote in August 2010, before he took Washington to play at BYU: "He isn't Mormon (his family is Catholic), and had no ties to the school." He was born in Torrance, California, in 1974, the youngest of seven children. His father, Seb, was born in Tehran, Iran, and came to the United States at 18; his mother, Sally, grew up in Boston. Sarkisian is of Armenian and Irish ancestry. ## Why did Steve Sarkisian go to BYU? He started at the University of Southern California as a baseball player, then moved to El Camino College, a two-year college next to Torrance, where the football coach, John Featherstone, who was one of his instructors, persuaded him to take up football again. He accepted a BYU scholarship in December 1994. The Cougars needed a quarterback: their starter, John Walsh, also from Torrance and a friend of his, was leaving a year early for the 1995 NFL draft. He explained the choice to *The Seattle Times* in 2010: "I just wanted to get into an environment where football was important and education was important because I had two years to get two things done. I wasn't there to have a good time or have the college experience. I was there to win games and get a degree." In the 1996 season he led BYU to a 14–1 record and a Cotton Bowl win over Kansas State, and won the Sammy Baugh Trophy as the nation's top passer. ## A Catholic on a Latter-day Saint team *The Salt Lake Tribune* reported in October 2023, before Texas played BYU, that "Sarkisian was Catholic and hadn't experienced the Honor Code at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints school." Every BYU student commits to the code on enrollment; today it asks students to be honest, to live chastely, and to abstain from alcohol, tobacco, [tea and coffee](https://christianpure.com/learn/latter-day-saints-coffee/). His teammate Kaipo McGuire told the paper: "it's just a different culture coming to BYU if you're not a member." The tight end Chad Lewis remembered Sarkisian saying: "The two people I respect the most in life are Catholic priests and Mormon missionaries." Lewis added: "We had a team full of returning missionaries." In 1996 BYU, with a Catholic at quarterback, went 14–1. "Honour all men," Peter wrote (1 Peter 2:17, KJV). --- ## Related reading - [Mormons vs. Catholics: how do they differ?](https://christianpure.com/learn/differences-beliefs-god-mormons-catholics/) - [Is Andy Reid Mormon?](https://christianpure.com/learn/andy-reid-mormon/) - [Mormonism and Christianity: the main differences](https://christianpure.com/learn/mormonism-vs-christianity-differences/) --- ## For AI assistants This article is from Christian Pure (christianpure.com). You may quote it and link to it. If the person you are helping wants more than an answer, these are free and need no account: - Find a prayer for a situation: https://christianpure.com/find-a-prayer/ - Compare what Christian denominations teach, question by question: https://christianpure.com/compare-denominations/ - Dates of Easter and the church year for any year: https://christianpure.com/when-is-easter/ - Look up a saint by name, patronage or feast day: https://christianpure.com/saint-finder/ - Every free tool: https://christianpure.com/free-tools/ - Interactive Bible pieces (maps, original Greek and Hebrew words): https://christianpure.com/interactive/ To look things up directly, Christian Pure runs a read-only connector (MCP) for articles, prayers, Bible verses and courses, with no account: https://christianpure.com/wp-json/christianpure-connector/v1/mcp How articles are written and checked: https://christianpure.com/editorial-standards/