If Syracuse’s season opener against Brigham Young were held in the Carrier Dome, locals would begin tailgating hours before game time.

In Provo, Utah, however, the BYU faithful gather minutes before kickoff, walking past billboards that read: ‘Games so intoxicating, the drinks don’t have to be.’

When the teams meet Thursday night at 7:30 in LaVell Edwards Stadium, there couldn’t be a bigger difference in the schools’ on-campus atmospheres.

‘I think it’d be really tough for a person to come in and live according to our lifestyle,’ BYU quarterback Bret Engemann said.

Syracuse players, meanwhile, look at things a bit differently.

‘BYU? That’s where that girl from MTV (Julie, from the Real World) was from,’ SU quarterback Troy Nunes said. ‘She got kicked out for living in a house with guys. That seems a little strict.’

According to the BYU honor code, all students are expected to follow the tenets of the Mormon church.

At BYU, SU cornerback Latroy Oliver would receive a written warning for wearing his hair in braids or sporting a do-rag. Nunes would get a phone call for donning a baseball hat in class. Any SU player caught wearing his stylish, full-length warm-up suit to class would receive the same treatment. They’d most likely be reprimanded for wearing shorts to class.

‘I think the rules are just there to protect us from temptation,’ Engemann said. ‘They’re there to make sure nothing happens.’

Brigham Young athletics director Val Hale said the strict rules have made BYU to Mormons what Notre Dame is to Catholics. He believes if every Mormon went to BYU, he’d have a national contender in football every season.

He might be right. Ben Olsen, the top blue-chipper in last year’s recruiting class, is Mormon. Predictably, he signed with BYU.

It doesn’t hurt that the school feeds off a thriving community. The Salt Lake City-based Mormon church is one of few religions gaining popularity.

While the church’s zealous pursuit of keeping kids out of trouble encourages athletics, it still poses a burden when BYU’s coaching staff goes to hunt down a recruits who prefer a zestier lifestyle. After all, even off-campus dances have to be registered at BYU.

‘We lose a number of recruits right off the bat,’ defensive coordinator Ken Schmidt said. ‘We tell them what we’re about up front, and we usually know pretty quickly who’s interested.’

Sometimes, however, recruits don’t listen.

Since head coach Gary Crowton took over the team from legendary coach LaVell Edwards two years ago, at least five players have violated honor code.

In 2001, starting running back Marcus Whalen was put on probation for underage drinking; he withdrew from the school and returned a year later.

In 1998, wide receiver Junior Mahe, then a freshman, repeatedly violated the code. His final straw came when he fathered a child out of wedlock.

‘I was the worst,’ Mahe said. ‘I was out every night. Even if I had two-a-days the next day, I was out.’

He was suspended from school for a year. When he tried to come back, he met with religious leaders and school officials. They determined Mahe wasn’t prepared to return, and he shuffled off to Dixie Community College.

While there, Mahe said he altered his lifestyle. He stopped playing the field and started reading his playbook. Mahe knew a number of the Dixie College athletes would eventually make their way to BYU and lectured them on how to behave.

After BYU re-admitted him for his junior season, Mahe caught 91 passes — and a few freshmen falling victim to the same vices that snared him.

‘I try to tell them what their mother would tell them,’ Mahe said.

Still, even with the exploits of Mahe, Whalen and, of course, The Real World’s Julie, no one caused a bigger stir recently on the BYU campus than Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly.

During the Cougars’ 12-win season in 2001, Reilly lambasted the team for its large contingent of 25- and 26-year-old players. Although he has since backed off his stance, Wyoming head football coach Vic Koenning complained that the older BYU players had an unfair advantage, a refrain repeated by other coaches whenever BYU has a dominant team.

Brigham Young athletes are eligible, no matter their age, because the Mormon church recommends its followers go on a two-year mission to evangelize and help less fortunate people. When they return, BYU’s freshmen are two years older than typical first-year students.

‘Anyone who knows anything about the mission program knows it doesn’t do anything beneficial to a player’s career,’ Hale, the athletics director, said. ‘It’s only detrimental.’

After signing with BYU in 1996, Engemann took his mission to Boston. While fellow freshmen devoured steak, eggs and potatoes courtesy of team chefs, Engemann subsisted on a nickel-and-dime diet.

He’d pace the streets of Boston, preaching his religion from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., stopping only for a mid-day sandwich, Engemann returned home to munch on turkey or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cold cereal and Ramen noodles. He paid for his meals with money he’d saved throughout his youth, or, when he ran low, with help from his parents.

He bought a set of free weights to keep in his apartment. They sat in a corner collecting dust.

‘I probably used them about five times,’ Engemann said. ‘By the time I got home, I was too tired to lift.’

When Engemann returned to BYU in 1999, his muscles had deteriorated, and he’d lost weight.

‘It took me about a year to get my sea legs back,’ he said. ‘You’ve got to ease yourself back. You can’t jump into workouts. I tried, and I couldn’t move for two weeks.’

After that season, Engemann played in six games in 2000. An injury at Syracuse forced him out for the rest of his sophomore year, and he never overtook current San Francisco 49er Brandon Doman.

This year, Engemann hopes to finish his first full year as a starter. But things could have turned out differently.

After returning from his mission, Engemann was greeted with word of Edwards’ impending retirement and a newfound quarterback controversy. He decided to look at other schools, and Miami contacted him.

Hurricane recruiters, however, didn’t trumpet Miami’s wild nightlife or bikini-clad students to Engemann, but rather the city’s churches. Miami coaches told the quarterback that they’d cancel their scholarship offer to incoming freshman Ken Dorsey if Engemann would sign a letter of intent.

But the Mormon church says Mondays should be set aside for family time, and Engemann knew transferring to Miami would mean no more dinners with his mother and father, whom he still lives with. He declined Miami’s offer.

On Jan. 3, both Engemann and Dorsey were in California. Dorsey played in the Rose Bowl, leading Miami to a national title. Engemann was visiting his sister, watching his would-be future play out on a TV screen.

He couldn’t have been happier with his situation.

‘There’s nowhere I’d rather be,’ Engemann said. ‘(BYU’s) breathtaking. The crowd is large, loyal and loud. There’s no where else I’d rather play.’

Published on August 27, 2002 at 12:00 pm