BYU Retires Jimmer Fredette’s Jersey in Emotional Halftime Ceremony
Saturday night in Provo wasn’t just about a thrilling overtime win for No. 22 BYU over Colorado - it was a celebration of one of the most electric college basketball careers of the 21st century. Jimmer Fredette, the face of “Jimmermania” and a true icon in Cougars history, had his No. 32 jersey officially retired at halftime, cementing his legacy in the rafters of the Marriott Center.
For Fredette, the moment was as personal as it was historic.
"It's hard to put into words," he said during the ceremony. "You see the few jerseys that are up there, and it's not easy to get your jersey retired at [BYU] with a lot of the requirements that they have, so it's a special thing to be able to have that."
And in classic Jimmer fashion, he brought it back to family. "To be here and do this with my family now, right, with my kids; I'm glad they waited the 15 years, honestly. Because for me, now I get to have all my three kids there."
It’s fitting that Fredette’s jersey now hangs among the greats, because for a stretch of time in the late 2000s and early 2010s, he was college basketball. From 2007 to 2011, the Glen Falls, New York native turned BYU into must-see TV. His senior year was the stuff of legend - leading the nation in scoring at 28.9 points per game, powering BYU to a Sweet 16 appearance, and pushing the Cougars as high as No. 3 in the AP Poll.
That year, Fredette swept National Player of the Year honors from every major outlet. But beyond the numbers, it was the way he did it that made him unforgettable - deep threes off the dribble, fearless drives into traffic, and a confidence that made every possession feel like a highlight reel waiting to happen.
Freshman forward AJ Dybantsa, who wasn’t even in kindergarten when Fredette was lighting it up, summed it up with the kind of reverence that spans generations: "All I know is that he was him, that's about it."
BYU head coach Kevin Young echoed the sentiment, reflecting on the broader impact Fredette had on the program - and the sport.
"I don't know if words can even describe his impact on BYU basketball," Young said. "I think just the fact that it turned into a true global phenomenon is incredible. The run [that] he had with Coach [Dave] Rose and all his teammates is something that I'm not sure we'll ever see in college basketball ever again at any school."
That might sound like hyperbole - until you remember what it felt like during that 2010-11 season. Fredette wasn’t just a scorer; he was a movement.
Opposing gyms filled up just to watch him shoot. NBA players tweeted about him.
Fans across the country - whether they had ties to BYU or not - tuned in for the Jimmer Show.
And now, 15 years later, his name and number are where they belong: in the rafters, forever part of BYU basketball history.
Jimmermania never really ended - it just found its rightful place among the legends.