Robert Anae (Uh-nye) is in his first season as Utah State’s offensive coordinator. Anae is a three-time nominee for the Frank Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach and one of the top offensive architects in college football. He brings 36 years of collegiate coaching experience with him to Utah State and has helped 27 teams to bowl eligibility.
Anae has been part of five conference championship teams as a coach and four more as a player, including winning the 1984 National Championship during his senior season at BYU.
During his 18-year tenure as an offensive coordinator, an Anae-led offense has earned top 25 NCAA statistical rankings in 10 different categories a total of 56 times, including 21 top 10 rankings.
Anae has tutored dozens of young men that have gone on to successful careers in the NFL, including Austin Collie (Colts), Ron Hall (Lions), Taysom Hill (Saints), Ed Mulitalo (Ravens) and Dennis Pitta (Ravens).
Anae has spent 15 seasons working for Mendenhall as an offensive coordinator at Virginia (2016-21), and two different stints at BYU (2013-15, 2005-10). Anae also has coaching stops at North Carolina State, Syracuse, Arizona, Texas Tech, UNLV, Boise State, Ricks College and Hawai’i.
Most recently, Anae spent two seasons as the offensive coordinator at North Carolina State (2023-24) and one season at Syracuse (2022), helping both programs to national rankings and bowl bids as Syracuse was ranked as high as No. 14 nationally, while North Carolina State finished the 2023 season ranked 21st with a 9-4 record.
In his six seasons at Virginia, the Cavaliers were bowl eligible in all but his first season, highlighted by an ACC Coastal Division Championship and a trip to the Orange Bowl in 2019.
During the 2021 campaign at Virginia, Anae’s unit ranked third nationally in total offense at 515.8 yards per game, a program record. The Cavaliers also set a school best with 396.2 passing yards that season to rank second nationally.
The 2019 season was special one in Charlottesville as the Cavaliers won the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division for the first time and made their first appearance in the ACC Championship game. UVA appeared in its first New Year’s Six bowl game, the Orange Bowl, and finished ranked No. 24 in the final College Football Playoff poll and No. 25 in the final USA Today coaches’ poll.
Anae’s offense broke five team records in 2019, which included most first downs (296), first downs passing (180), completions (337), passing yards (3,748) and points scored (449). UVA also tied the 1990 team for most touchdowns (56), while Anae’s offense in 2019 averaged 33.2 points per game, which is No. 2 all-time to UVA’s 1990 team. UVA amassed over 5,000 yards of total offense in both 2018 and 2019 under Anae, which marks only the second time in program history UVA has done that in back-to-back seasons.
Prior to his tenure at Virginia, Anae served as Mendenhall’s offensive coordinator and inside receivers coach in nine of his 11 seasons at BYU. Anae helped BYU finish the 2015 regular season ranked No. 21 in passing offense after directing the 2014 Cougar offense to a No. 14 ranking in scoring offense, putting up 37.1 points per game, the most points by a BYU team since the 2001 season.
In 2013, Anae led the BYU offense to a No. 14 national ranking, including a No. 10 finish in rushing offense, setting a school record with 3,475 rushing yards.
Anae spent two seasons (2010-11) at Arizona under Mike Stoops and Rich Rodriguez, serving as offensive line coach both years and run game coordinator under Stoops. Arizona’s offense ranked in the top 16 both seasons and was in the top 25 in passing both years as well.
Anae’s first job at a Power 5 program came when he was on Mike Leach’s inaugural staff at Texas Tech, where he was the offensive line coach from 2000-04, during a time when the Red Raiders put together one of the most prolific offenses in NCAA history. For three of his five years on staff, Texas Tech led the nation in passing and was never outside the top 11. They also led the nation in total offense in 2003 (582.8), a mark that currently stands as the eighth-highest total in FBS history.
Anae began his coaching career as a graduate assistant working with the offensive line at Hawai’i under Dick Tomey in 1986-87. He was then a graduate assistant for a pair of years at BYU in 1990 and 1991 before coaching the offensive line at Ricks College in Idaho from 1992-95. Anae coached the offensive front for a year at Boise State in 1996 before moving to UNLV for a pair of seasons, the final as running game coordinator along with his line duties in 1998.
Anae was an offensive lineman on BYU’s National Championship team in 1984 and part of four bowl teams from 1981-84, while earning second-team All-Western Athletic Conference honors. BYU achieved a 43-7 record during Anae’s playing days under Hall of Fame coach LaVell Edwards. He played in the Hula Bowl in 1985 and was drafted by the New Jersey Generals of the USFL.
Anae graduated from BYU in 1986 with a degree in political science. He went on to earn two more degrees, an M.S. in sociology in 1990 from Hawai’i and a PH.D. in sociology in 1999 from BYU.
He and his wife, Liane, have two sons and a daughter. His son Famika played on the offensive line at BYU. Anae’s father, Famika Sr., and brothers Brad and Matt also played football for BYU.
ROBERT ANAE FILE
Coaching History
2026- Utah State – Offensive Coordinator
2023-24 North Carolina State – Offensive Coordinator
2022 Syracuse – Offensive Coordinator
2016-21 Virginia – Offensive Coordinator/IWR
2013-15 BYU – Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/IWR
2012 Arizona – Offensive Line
2011 Arizona – Run Game Coordinator/OL
2005-10 BYU – Offensive Coordinator/IWR
2000-04 Texas Tech – Offensive Line
1998 UNLV – Run Game Coordinator/OL
1997 UNLV – Offensive Line
1996 Boise State – Offensive Line
1992-95 Ricks College – Offensive Line
1990-91 BYU – Graduate Assistant
1986-87 Hawai’i – Graduate Assistant
Bowl Games (27)
North Carolina State (2): 2024 Military Bowl; 2023 Cheez-It Bowl
Syracuse (1): 2022 Pinstripe Bowl
Virginia (4): 2021 Fenway Bowl*; 2019 Orange Bowl; 2018 Belk Bowl; 2017 Military Bowl
BYU (11): 2015 Las Vegas Bowl; 2014 Miami Beach Bowl; 2013 Fight Hunger Bowl; 2010
New Mexico Bowl; 2009 Las Vegas Bowl; 2008 Las Vegas Bowl; 2007 Las Vegas Bowl; 2006 Las Vegas Bowl; 2005 Las Vegas Bowl; 1991 Holiday Bowl; 1990 Holiday Bowl
Arizona (1): 2012 New Mexico Bowl
Texas Tech (4): 2004 Holiday Bowl; 2003 Houston Bowl; 2002 Tangerine Bowl; 2001 Alamo Bowl; 2000 Gallery Furniture Bowl
Ricks College (4): 1995 Real Dairy Bowl; 1994 Real Dairy Bowl; 1993 Real Dairy Bowl; 1992 Real Dairy Bowl
*Not Contested
Conference Championships (5)
BYU (4) – Mountain West: 1990, 1991, 2006, 2007
Ricks College (1) – Western State Football League: 1994
Division Championships (1)
Virginia (1) – ACC Coastal: 2019
Playing Experience
1981-84 BYU – Offensive Line
Education
1999 BYU – Sociology (Ph.D.)
1990 Hawai’i – Sociology (Master’s)
1986 BYU – Political Science (Bachelor’s)
Family
Wife, Liane; two sons and a daughter
