Sarkisian was named outstanding player in the January 1997 game as quarterback for BYU in their win over Kansas State.
ARLINGTON, Texas — The 89th Cotton Bowl Classic kicks off Friday at AT&T Stadium, where University of Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian will make history.
Only three people in the history of the Cotton Bowl have both played in and later coached in the game.
Ken Hatfield suited up for Arkansas in the 1965 Cotton Bowl before returning to coach the Razorbacks in the 1989 and 1990 editions.
David McWilliams played for Texas in the 1963 and 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic, later leading the Longhorns as head coach in the 1991 game.
Art Briles took the field for Houston in the 1977 Cotton Bowl and returned as Baylor’s head coach in 2015.
That history brings us to the present, where Steve Sarkisian will join that small group and become a first of his own. Sarkisian was the starting quarterback for the Brigham Young University Cougars on Jan. 1, 1997, when he led the team to a win over the Kansas State Wildcats in the Cotton Bowl and was named Outstanding Player of the Game.
On Friday, when Sark’s Longhorns kick off against the Ohio State Buckeyes, he will become the only Outstanding Player from the Cotton Bowl to later coach in the game.
Kelvin Walker, Board Chairman for the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association, said, “It’s going to be electric. It’s going to be a lot of hype. We have the privilege of playing on the Friday night game to be the last game of this first year of the 12-team playoff, and to have a Texas team play in that game in Texas is pretty special.”