Notre Dame vs. BYU is a big football showdown. Their LGBTQ records aren’t nearly as close.

The No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish play the No. 8 BYU Cougars in football in one of the biggest matchups of the week, if not the season.

On the field, they are two of the best football teams of any religious college or university — and any school in the country. They are two of the only nine undefeated FBS teams left.

Off the field, how do these two religious schools treat LGBTQ athletes, and how do they measure up on gay, bi and trans acceptance?

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There are a bunch of touch points for the community in South Bend and Provo. And by far, it seems easier to be LGBTQ and out at Notre Dame.

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Notre Dame and BYU have played against one another in football nine times, with Notre Dame leading the series, 7-2. Notre Dame has won the last four, with BYU last topping the Fighting Irish in 2004, 20-17.

Over the last 20 years, Notre Dame has been the best Division I football team representing a religious university, winning over 70% of the Fighting Irish’s games in that period and earning three spots in the College Football Playoffs.

BYU and TCU are runners-up in that category, each winning about 68% of their games in the last two decades.

Of course, Notre Dame has all the lore and mystique, with 22 National Championships in history. TCU is a distant second amongst religious schools, with three.

We look at several examples that give us insight into the life of LGBTQ people at both schools, including students and student-athletes.

Notre Dame on LGBTQ athletes and inclusion

Notre Dame has an official LGBTQ student group, called Prism ND. In addition, the student handbook at the school treats gay relationships similarly to how it treats straight relationships, namely it bars intimate contact outside marriage for all.

Though it seems to acknowledge the Catholic Church won’t recognize same-sex marriage.

On the athletics side, Notre Dame athletes and coaches in 2014 produced a You Can Play video to demonstrate support for the LGBTQ community. Rower Olivia Kacsits was part of the game-changing push for inclusion. That video included several players on the football team.

Notre Dame alumnus Patrick Burke was the founder of You Can Play.

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Earlier that year, Notre Dame tennis player Matt Dooley, who appeared in the You Can Play video, came out with his team’s support in a powerful story on Outsports.

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In 2017, Notre Dame and St. Mary’s College alumni teamed up to honor an out LGBTQ athlete who rowed in college.

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Most recently, Notre Dame women’s basketball player Hannah Hidalgo shared an anti-gay social media post from anti-gay commentator Candace Owens attacking same-sex marriage. She played for months for the school before finally sharing on . She still plays for Notre Dame.

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BYU on LGBTQ athletes and inclusion

BYU includes policies about gay students, including the opposition to any student showing any kind of affection to someone of the same gender. That’s kissing, hugging, holding hands, anything. Married or otherwise.

While it offers some “same-sex attraction” and other resources, BYU also doesn’t currently recognize an LGBTQ student organization.

Womp womp.

In sports, BYU has had a couple moments of LGBTQ people in the athletics department coming out publicly.

Emma Gee was a successful runner on the track team when she wrote about being the only out LGBTQ athlete at the school in 2019.

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Also in 2019, Charlie Bird, who played Cosmo The Cougar as BYU’s mascot, came out as gay.

“There are many people like me who suffer in silence, struggling to reconcile complicated ideas with thoughts, feelings and religious beliefs,” Bird wrote. “There are many who feel misunderstood and heartbroken. We never know who around us might be wearing a mask.”

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Notre Dame v. BYU on LGBTQ inclusion

Overall, Notre Dame far outshines BYU on LGBTQ inclusion, for students and student-athletes. My final grade, taking into account inclusion across FBS football schools, on a scale of 1-10:

Notre Dame: 7.5

BYU: 4.0

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