Despite reports of a decline in Generation Z Christianity by sources like Capital News Service and Pew Research Center, the faith is alive and well within Weber State University sports. The football team, for instance, hosts a weekly Bible study every Monday at Stewart Stadium where believing athletes convene in fellowship with one another.

Additionally, football players across the country have been seen kneeling in the endzone to say prayers before and after games, showcasing their Christian pride. The Wildcats are no exception to this and consistently take time to pray in the locker room.

Soon after a recent Sunday service at Ogden’s Redemption Church, several Weber athletes pointed to senior Cole Casto, a center on the football team, as the athlete leading this initiative. Casto emphasizes that he is no holier than anyone else and that his priorities were “out of whack” for a long time.

Casto started the football Bible study in July 2025 and believes it helps the players “put our focus where it needs to be” and empowers them to “run with endurance the race set before us,” reflecting Hebrews 12:1.

“Our sports and our time here is temporary,” Casto said. “God is eternal, and having that in mind really just allows you to play freely and to not put weight on a poor performance, which in turn allows you to play better.”

Casto is in charge of choosing which part of the Bible will be covered in each session. He writes up thought-provoking questions for the different chapters before opening the floor for discussion.

“Everybody in there has a chance to share and a chance to teach each other within,” Casto said. “There are some guys in there that are much more experienced and knowledgeable in the word than I am. Noah Bennee is a great example. We’ll talk on a subject, and then he’ll find a point in there that I didn’t look at and teach everybody about it. It’s really cool.”

Casto is approaching the end of his Weber State football career, but wants to see the group continue on after he graduates and stay involved as much as possible until then.

“I’d love to pass that torch and see if I can stay involved through spring,” Casto said. “I would love to see 105 dudes and all the coaches in there every Monday afternoon to hear the word … There is a revival going on in the nation, in the state and at Weber State alone.”

Beyond the football team, there are many other students with experience in various sports who attend Weber’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter. It started years ago with just five athletes who met in the library and has since grown exponentially.

Similar to the study group at Stewart Stadium, members gather to delve into the gospel, play games, eat and be open with each other about questions and concerns. Football and softball are the sports with the most representation within the group, but there has been an increase in athletes from track and field, cross country, golf, tennis and others.

They meet on campus at Weber each Tuesday and break into separate men’s and women’s studies on Thursdays at the homes of the leaders, currently working through the New Testament book of Galatians. Speakers include dedicated students as well as occasional guests from the national FCA organization.

One of the student leaders is Caleb Hudgins, a 20-year-old exercise science major from Arkansas who grew up playing various sports ranging from football to cross country. A regular public speaker, Hudgins said that his faith was a reflection of his surroundings growing up.

“I grew up in Arkansas … everyone calls themselves Christian and that’s kind of the culture I grew up in,” Hudgins said. “That’s what I would have called myself for a long time, but I didn’t truly have my faith in God. It was more of a works-based thing. Go to church on Sunday, pray a little bit, maybe read my Bible once a week and I should be set.”

It wasn’t until Hudgins realized he could not save himself that he “began to truly trust in God in all aspects of life.” Since this revelation, he has taken on a position at Morgan Grace Church and feels a desire to joyfully live out Jesus’ teachings of loving one’s neighbor each day as opposed to treating religion like a checklist of obligations. He carries this sentiment into his work with FCA, making use of sporting principles to get the point across.

“I think that FCA provides a space where we can really tailor it to athletes,” Hudgins said. “Jesus spoke to farmers and used farming analogies. We get to speak to athletes using athletic analogies … How do you deal with defeat? … Our value is in who God says we are and how he loved us enough to come and die for us.”

The group is growing, gathering support from local churches and connecting with the University of Utah’s chapter in order to raise up the FCA community in Utah the way that can be seen in other regions of the country.

“Where I’m from in Arkansas, you have an FCA at your high school and at every college,” Hudgins said. “It’s big and it’s funded and all this kind of stuff, but it doesn’t have a huge presence in Utah. But, it’s definitely growing, which is cool to see. We’d love to get some more of that national connection, but right now we have solid regional connections and we’re all growing, which is fun.”

Both organizations demonstrate how many collegiate athletes continue to inextricably link their spiritual disciplines to the demands of competitive performance as well as in life away from sports.

Leer en Español aquí.