Enter many a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the U.S. and you will find a pew-packed chapel next to a ready-made sports court separated only by an accordion-like folding wall.
That pairing says a lot not only about how the faith views the intertwining of the spiritual and the physical but also about the vaunted place in Latter-day Saint culture held by this particular sport: basketball.
From its conception, it was seen as a way to exhibit “muscular Christianity,” build character, learn discipline and practice teamwork — “no place,” its inventor said, “for the egotist.”
Latter-day Saint leaders and the members quickly adopted it, to the point that “church ball” became an integral ingredient in congregational life.
Fast-forward to today’s NBA, where showtime and showboating sell tickets, and the college ranks, where money increasingly rules — even at <a href='https://www.sltrib.com/sports/byu-cougars/2025/08/18/byu-football-can-faith-big-money/'>church-owned Brigham Young University</a>, where millions in name, image and likeness cash helped the Cougars land prized recruit <a href='https://www.sltrib.com/sports/byu-cougars/2024/12/12/how-much-will-byu-pay-aj-dybantsa/'>AJ Dybantsa</a>.
How did this happen? How did basketball blend into church culture for so many years? And how <a href='https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2025/08/20/mormon-land-podcast-is-big-money/'>does the modern game fit with BYU’s religious mission</a>?
On this week’s show, Latter-day Saint historian Matthew Bowman and scholar Wayne LeCheminant, authors of “<a href='https://www.signaturebooks.com/books/p/game-changers'>Game Changers: AJ Dybantsa, BYU, and the Struggle for the Soul of Basketball</a>," answer those questions and more.

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Why LDS meetinghouses have basketball courts — the rise and fall of ‘church ball’

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