Baltimore Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy is about as ardent a supporter of BYU's sports teams as you might find, as the former Cougar star regularly uses social media to share his fandom.
But on Sunday as lineups were televised for the Ravens' Sunday Night Football season opening thriller against the Buffalo Bills, Van Noy claimed a different "school" as his "alma mater": Unc University.
The term "unc" has long been used in slang as not just an abbreviation for uncle, but also to describe a man who is older than the person using the term and who seems old-fashioned or out of touch with modern trends.
In essence, then, Van Noy said Sunday that by having attended "Unc University," he's been educated in old-fashioned ways, akin to someone saying they went to the "school of hard knocks."
Van Noy, 34, has been leaning into his increasing age lately, especially as a commentator during a Ravens preseason game in August said, "They probably call him grandpa now in the locker room."
The next day, Van Noy released a humorous video on social media that "investigated" his age. In the video, Van Noy said, "You can call me grandpa. Nah, don't call me grandpa. Call me unc."
Van Noy, who played for BYU from 2009-2013, remains a proud supporter of the Cougars.
In his next post on X following the "Unc" video, Van Noy asked on August 12, "Who's winning the QB competition the Bear kid or Hillstead??" in reference to the battle for the starting quarterback role at BYU that was going on at the time between now-starter Bear Bachmeier and backup McCae Hillstead.
On August 27, he posted "3 more days!!! @BYUfootball" in reference to the Cougars' August 30 season opener, and he included three photos of himself during his playing days in Provo.
Now in his 12th season in the NFL, Van Noy is coming off his best campaign yet in 2024, as he finished with 12.5 sacks.
That number far exceeded his previous career high of nine, and he finished fourth in the entire NFL in the statistic. For his efforts, he was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career.
In early August, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said of Van Noy, "He's just a really good football athlete, Kyle Van Noy. I'm sure he still runs pretty fast, I'm sure he still jumps pretty high and all that, but he does all the football movements functionally really, really well...he finds a way because he's really good."
On Sunday against the Bills, Van Noy totaled three tackles (one solo and two assisted) and a quarterback hit in a last-second loss.