Why did I hijack a 727 and jump out of a plane with $200,000. Well, I'm sure you've made up your mind about me. But let me tell you my story, and then you can have a clearer picture of me and my mindset at the time.

It was late November in 1971. BYU had just lost a 4th straight game to the Utes, capping off a 2nd straight losing season. I was concerned about the direction of the program. We had never been any kind of football powerhouse, but I had a feeling that with the right coach we could become a power program...one that could win a national championship or have a Heisman Trophy winner.

I was friendly with most of the coaching staff at the time. Coach Hudspeth, while being a decent coach and a good guy, just didn't seem like he was the one to take us to the next level. My interactions with LaVell were quite enlightening and I always came away very impressed by his approach to the game and to coaching in general.

I called Athletic Director Stan Watts and let him know that I thought it was time to move on from Tommy and hand the reins to LaVell. He agreed with me, but the budget would not allow for buying out Coach Hudspeth's contract and being able to pay 1/2 the going rate for a new head coach. I was a member of the fledgling Cougar Club, but we were still small potatoes. What we needed was a big donor to help make this happen. I was working as an accountant, but not really pulling in any kind of wages to allow me to make large donations. When I saw what the team needed and that it wasn't likely to happen based on donor money coming in, I decided to seek other, shall we say, avenues for funding.

Stan told me that we would need at least $150,000 to make the deal happen. I went to work concocting a plan...a crazy plan. But I knew it could work. It had to work.

Well, you know what happened on that fateful day on November 24, 1971. I did what I had to do to advance the BYU football program. In case you're wondering, no, the bomb wasn't real. Nobody within the program knew anything about my actions. As I jumped from the plane, and was plummeting towards the earth, I had the thought, "If I die, was this all worth it?" A smile crossed my lips when I knew, with every fiber of my being, that it was exactly what I had to do and it would help bring BYU football into a new era of dominance and missionary work.

I landed in a forested area and quickly tried to hide any evidence that I was ever there. Because of my Boy Scout training and advancement to the rank of Eagle, I could survive quite comfortably in the wilderness without leaving much, if any, trace. You fellow Eagle Scouts can relate. It also helped that I was originally from an area not far from there. I kept moving east and south toward Utah County. Northern Nevada sucked. The heat from the Federal BI was on and the pressure was high. I knew that I was a hunted man. But, just like my pioneer ancestors before me, I made the trek to Utah with the expectations of a promised land where BYU football would dominate.

After about 11 days, I arrived in Utah County. Nobody suspected me since I lived and worked in Utah and I had told everybody that I was taking a vacation from my problems. Also, the composite sketches made of me were laughably bad. I made it back to my residence and cleaned up. Several days later, the Cougar Club received an anonymous cash donation in the amount of $200,000 to be used for our new coaching staff. The rest is history.

So you can judge me all you want, but I did everything I could to advance BYU football. What have you done?