Original post:

http://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=18554616

Tonight I sent the following email to Tom Holmoe, Director of Athletics. I will note for those of you that have not had a chance to contribute that you are welcome to do so; I will keep track of any others who wish to participate and will present to you (and the Athletics department) the total figures we were able to generate. As I write this, I see 467 people online, which is several times the number of people who participated. If you haven't yet, please consider giving something to the Athletics Department so we can get as many people to contribute to this project as we can.

****************************************************

Dear Tom,

As die-hard fans of BYU sports, we've all been disappointed by the rough start to the football season. A group of us wanted to do something to show support for the team. To that end, we went to cougarboard.com and other BYU fan forums and asked for as many people as possible to make a "new" donation to BYU athletics-- meaning, a donation they were not already planning on making-- as a gesture of support. We then asked that they report back to us to let us know they had made a contribution, no matter how much or how little. Even more than raising money, we wanted to get as many people on board as we could so the players could know that their fans are behind them through thick and thin.

Not knowing how much support we would find for this project, we set a goal of getting 100 names together by kickoff against Boise State on Friday. I'm pleased to report that we crushed that goal. Less than a day after the call for contributions was made, 118 Cougar Fans responded with donations to the Athletics Department and the Cougar Club. Several of them have asked to remain anonymous, and so rather than give you their names, I'd like to tell you a little about them.

People from all over the country responded to our request, from California to Washington, DC. They included grandparents, young fathers, and college students. Some are Cougar Club members and have been for many years. Many others donated to BYU athletics for the very first time, including a few who joined the Cougar Club today and volunteered to give monthly donations. Some donated on behalf of family members; others, in memory of friends who have passed away. Maybe the one thing we all hold in common is a love of BYU sports and a belief in what our team stands for when they take the field.

Of the 118 who have participated to date, 75 informed us how much they donated. Donations ranged from as small as $10 to as large as $300. The 75 individuals donated an average of $36.53, for a total reported amount of $2,740. 43 others also contributed and asked that the amount of their donation remain anonymous.

I wanted to make mention of one particularly noteworthy contributor: Zephyr hats, who as I'm sure you know is a phenomenal supporter of BYU athletics. When we first started this project we contacted Zephyr to ask if it would be willing to contribute a hat or two we could award as a prize to a randomly-selected contributor. Instead, Zephyr offered to give a Zephyr BYU hat to each and every one of the first 100 contributors to our little project. Needless to say, we appreciate very much his assistance in putting this together, along with his other contributions to the program (though we also note that many gave unaware of Zephyr's offer, while others asked that their prize be given to someone else, as the reason for their contribution was specifically and exclusively that they wanted to show support for the team).

Thanks to you, Kalani, the staff, and the team for all your efforts to make BYU football great. Rest assured we will be pulling for our guys come Friday night. Like everyone who is a part of or a follower of BYU athletics, we hope for good times ahead, but we want our team to know we stand behind them through the best of times and the worst of them-- day or night, rain or snow.

Go Cougs!