UPDATE: BYU and Fresno State won’t play at Oakland Coliseum after all, per Fresno State

UPDATE: 4:00 PM ET, June 24:

Welp, that was fun while it lasted. The Fresno State athletic department acknowledged the negotiations, but it looks like this game will be in Fresno after all. Too bad.

Our previous story can be found below:

BYU football is no stranger to neutral site games, even neutral site games in pro stadiums. Now, according to a new report, the Cougars might get another chance to play under the big lights in the near future.

Per the minutes of a meeting from the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, dated June 17, 2016, BYU and Fresno State are in “final negotiations” with Fresno State’s athletic director play their 2017 matchup at the Coliseum.

This potential matchup and venue were mentioned in previous meetings with the board as well. Here’s another update, from the minutes from a meeting dated May 20, 2016:

The full report, in case you are curious, can be found here, thanks to intrepid reader Kurtis Larson.

BYU and Fresno are currently slated to meet at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno on Nov. 4, 2017. That’s the return game of a home and home (BYU beat Fresno State 52-10 in Provo in 2015).

Playing in a pro stadium should be a win-win for Cougar fans. The Oakland Coliseum seats about 20,000 more fans than Bulldog stadium, and BYU is likely to travel very well to the game. Moving to a pro stadium also gives a somewhat lackluster end to the 2017 schedule a little bit more pop. After opening the season with three straight Power Five opponents, BYU is only currently scheduled to face one more, at Mississippi State, in mid October.

We’ll have more if and when this becomes official.