Hi Everyone,

As we all know, our program has hit a rough patch. As a fan, I know it is frustrating to feel like things are not where they ought to be and that there is so little I can do about it. Maybe some of you feel the same way. I want to do something to let the team know we are still behind them.

My proposal is to get as many people as possible to make a "new" contribution to BYU athletics-- meaning, a contribution you were not already planning on making-- as a gesture of support for the team. Those of you making Cougar Club donations and buying tickets, please keep up the good work, but for purposes of this project, I want what you give to be something above and beyond what you are already doing. It does not need to be much; I am less interested in a dollar amount than I am in getting the largest number of people possible to participate. Our goal is to present to the Athletics Department before kickoff of the Boise State game a list of one hundred people who stepped up and make a contribution to support the program.

I would like to ask for all of you to help if you can. If you are reading this, please do the following three things:

(1) Go to the link below and make a donation of any size to the BYU athletics department. I'll suggest a donation of $10 but anything you are willing to contribute will do.

https://www.ldsphilanthropies.org/byu/funds/schools-colleges-departments-and-other-units/byu-athletics

(2) Send me a boardmail to let me know (a) that you contributed; (b) whether you would like me to list you by real name or username, or to simply include you among the count of people who participated but wish to remain anonymous; and (c), if you are willing to disclose it, how much you contributed. (It would be nice to be able to tell the Department how much this project generated-- but again, for purposes of this project, the number of people participating matters more than the amount.)

(3) Do what you can to encourage participation in this project. Send the word to your friends on Facebook and other social media platforms. If people complain about the state of the program, ask them to contribute. If you think we hired the wrong coaches, send something to the coaches circle so we can get the right people in place. If you think Independence is not working, or if you think we aren't dedicating enough resources to the program, now's the chance to show that you want to be part of a big-time program. And even if you think our best days are behind us, contribute anyway and show the team that their fans are behind them through thick and thin.

Anything you can do to make this project successful would be much appreciated. If you are in a position to do so and would like to donate prizes we can award to contributors, please let me know. If you have contacts with groups that would be interested in participating (like the ROC), please spread the word. If nothing else, please consider making a contribution and let me know you're on board. I will make periodic updates to let you all know how close we are to reaching our goal of 100 before kickoff against BSU.

Thanks, and go Cougs!

UPDATE: To help us reach our goal of 100 contributors, Zephyr has graciously offered a prize for the first 100 to participate. The first 100 participants will receive a free Zephyr BYU hat-- or, if they prefer, a coupon code for $10 off on a hat of their choice. When you send me your boardmail to let me know you donated, please tell me whether you'd like the hat or the coupon code, and if you want the hat, tell me where it should be sent. Thanks, Zephyr!

FURTHER UPDATE: We reached our goal of 100 contributors. Thanks for the quick responses-- we got done in a single day what I was hoping to accomplish by Friday. I will reach out to the first 100 responders to make arrangements for the hat/coupon. If you contacted me before 2:00 MT today and I haven't reached out to you yet, please send me a BM to nudge me and I'll make sure you get your prize if you were among the first 100. In the meantime, I am still keeping tabs on additional contributions, so please feel free to make your contribution and let me know so I can include you in the count.