(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU players celebrate with fans as Utah hosts BYU, NCAA football in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024.
The months since the Utah Utes and BYU Cougars last met on the football field have been painful for Jocelyn Allan.
Last November, BYU's cheer coach celebrated the football team's win over the Utes on the sideline of Rice-Eccles Stadium.
In the moments after the heated rivalry game ended, an 18-year-old University of Utah fan yelled "f -- BYU" and threw a disposable water bottle from a south endzone suite above the visiting team's tunnel, according to court documents. The man later told police he "saw people throwing water bottles and he was so mad that he threw one in the direction of the cheer team," the documents state.
The bottle hit Allan in the head and knocked her unconscious for 10-15 seconds. She was taken to a hospital with concussion symptoms.
"It has been heart-wrenching to watch my 6-year-old wake up with awful nightmares thinking his mom is being attacked," BYU's cheerleading coach wrote. "Telling his teacher at school he can't do his work because his brain isn't working like his mom."
In June, as a prosecutor read Allan's victim impact statement in a West Jordan courtroom, she was still dealing with the emotional ramifications of that night.
"My family and I have gone through so much ongoing suffering that we never expected to happen to us," the prosecutor read aloud at sentencing. "... I see a young man who made a horrible decision out of anger over a football game outcome. ... This rivalry [got] out of control."
Last year's rivalry game, the first time the Cougars and Utes had met as conference foes in over a decade, was filled with drama.
BYU rallied for a 22-21 win thanks to a controversial penalty. After the contest, Utah Athletics Director Mark Harlan stormed onto the field to berate a referee and later made a statement to reporters, claiming the game had been "stolen" from the Utes. He was fined $50,000 for his behavior.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah athletic director Mark Harlan yells at an official after the game as Utah hosts BYU, NCAA football in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024.
As the two schools prepared to meet this weekend at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, BYU said it would ramp up security and school officials called for civility between rivals.
"There's nothing wrong with the intensity being there. For me personally, I would like to see it be with tons of respect," BYU football coach Kalani Sitake said this week. "Whether we want to admit it or not, we actually need each other.
"Fans are going to do whatever they want," he continued. "I'm just telling them, it's a lot of fun when you cheer your team on, and you show a lot of respect for the opposing team."
BYU officials said the university increased security at games when the Cougars entered the Big 12 Conference, but the school will have 20 additional police officers at the stadium for this weekend's game.
BYU athletic director Brian Santiago believes this rivalry is always going to be heated.
"I think the BYU-Utah rivalry is next level, no matter what sport, no matter what time of year and certainly in the football realm," he said, speaking generally about the rivalry. "The games are almost never what you expect them to be because they are so emotionally charged. So no, [I don't think the intensity of the game has increased]. I just think we need to be intentional to make sure the rivalry stays respectful."
Allan, meanwhile, has dealt with a number of health issues since last year's game.
"I have been suffering from horrible concussions for months. Months of my life have been destroyed by missing work, ongoing horrible headaches, dizziness, vision problems, fatigue and stress to me and my children," her victim impact statement read. "I have had concerning memory issues, awful nightmares and many sleepless nights."
Some of her symptoms prevented her from doing her job effectively, she said.
"I have had difficulty being in lit rooms, loud venues and keeping up with the high energy my job requires. Not being myself has been devastating to me because so many people count of me to function at a high level," according to her statement.
Beyond the physical issues, she was increasingly in the spotlight of both fan bases.
"I have had to deal with Utah fans making crude and disturbing remarks about me in public media chats, and had BYU fans constantly asking me about the assault. Many strangers approach me with intensive questions on my brain health. A few hours of community service don't feel adequate for how much suffering he has caused me," she wrote.
The Utah fan was originally charged with third-degree felony aggravated assault. In May, he pleaded guilty to a reduced assault charge, a class A misdemeanor. The Salt Lake Tribune does not typically name people convicted of misdemeanors.
He spent one day in jail, was put on a two-year probation and ordered to take classes and pay a $2,000 fine.
"There hasn't been a single day that I haven't regretted my poor actions," he said in his sentencing hearing.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Fans stand between the third and fourth quarters of the game between the Utah Utes and the Brigham Young Cougars at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024.
He said he plans to go to Utah State University after serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The judge who sentenced the man noted that the rivalry had become increasingly heated.
"I know this rivalry can be intense. It has a very intense feeling associated with it," 3rd District Court judge John J. Nielsen said during the sentencing hearing. "I grew up in Salt Lake and attended games at Rice-Eccles and LaVell Edwards. I get it. But hopefully this experience will show it is just a game. It doesn't mean that much in the grand scheme of things. And it is certainly not worth anybody's safety or freedom. What is worth getting upset about it, and what is not?"
Allan is also hoping her experience will be a lesson as BYU welcomes Utah into Provo this week and beyond.
"I am quite scared for the safety of my team the next time we have to enter Rice-Eccles Stadium. However, my hope is this sentence will be enough to make others think twice about their actions and conduct," she wrote.