I worked a summer at the Mormon school in Provo, Utah. I had heard about their affinity for tunnelling (there are apparently numerous tunnels in Salt Lake City, used by polygamous Mormons in the early 1900's), but I did not know that BYU had such a huge network.

First off, the campus is huge and includes more than just the classroom buildings, the Marriot Center (a 24,000-seat arena), and Cougar Stadium (60,000 seats). The campus also stretches further North to the Mormon Missionary Training Center, to the North-East (to the old married housing), and to the North-West (to the new married housing). All of this continuous land is owned by the University, and, they say, has a lot of tunnels.

When I worked for their housing dept., I was given a master key to eight buildings. Of course, my adventurous nature got the best of me and I decided to make sure that this key fit everything. I and a co-worker found old sewing rooms that probably hadn't been used since the seventies, as well as supply rooms that were still in use.

However, what intrigued me most was a door, larger than the others, in the basements, which my "master" key didn't fit. There was about an inch gap between the door and the floor, but it was very dark inside. There was also a breeze blowing out from the door which would show that either there was air being pumped into the room behind, or the air was so still that the little movement of air in the basement was sucking it out.

I never got behind the door. I couldn't even take the hinges off since the door swung inward, but I have found more information concerning the tunnels at BYU.

First, BYU relies on steam and hot water for its entire heating system. Well over 100 buildings are heated from one central building (the Phys Plant) whose smoke stack is noticeable from quite a distance. These pipes run through tunnels which run under the sidewalks on campus. This explains why BYU is the only place in Utah County which has very few cracks in the sidewalks. The heat from the pipes keeps the sidewalks from freezing in the winter. This in turn attracts the skateboarders and rollerbladers who are forbidden from campus.

The real problem with getting down and exploring these tunnels is that they are still in use today and the campus police are serious about keeping people out. Rumours still persists of people who have figured out how to get down there, but no one knows anybody personally.