PROVO, Utah — While it appears that BYU will avoid punishment after Cougar fans stormed the field following last week's "Holy War" victory, a local CEO is still paying up after offering to cover any potential fines; this time benefiting students across northern Utah.
In the minutes after BYU's 26-17 win over Utah, Crumbl CEO Jason McGowan offered to pay off the $50,000 fine expected to be handed down by the Big 12 Conference for students storming the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
However, in its weekly announcement of team punishments on Tuesday, the conference skipped over BYU, sharing only that it had fined Arizona State for similar student actions.
With nothing to pay off, McGowan could have retreated to his cookie kingdom with a full wallet. Instead, he did the opposite in a move that helps the BYU players and local Utah students.
On Wednesday, McGowan arrived at the Salt Lake City School District office and paid off the entire school lunch debt bill for the district at a total of $60,685.
But he wasn't done.
In a social media post, McGowan shared that he had done the same for the Provo School District, which a spokesperson said was over $30,000.
“Although we can be bitter rivals on the field, we don’t need to be like that in real life. We can love for each other and care for each other, we’re all just children of God at the end of the day.” McGowan said.
Caleb Price, the director of communications for the Provo City School District, said this makes a world of difference for their families.
“If a family has debt, there’s probably a reason for that,” Price said. "So, to have somebody step up and wipe that clean and let these families take away a little bit of that stress because of that, and know that these kids are able to eat at school, that’s a great thing."
Salt Lake City School District Superintendent Elizabeth Grant said this will help hundreds of families.
“Half of our students live in low-income families, so addressing student lunch debt, paying those fees, it’s a big lift for families,” Grant said. "I mean, that’s what matters, is that our children are able to eat lunch, able to eat breakfast.”
For Crumbl, it’s not about red versus blue but instead about bringing both teams together.
“At the end of the day, we’re all just trying to make the world a little bit better of a place,” McGowan said.
As far as the original $50,000 offer for the non-existent BYU fine, McGowan said it will go directly to Cougar players through NIL deals.
The Big 12 Conference did not share why it chose to fine Arizona State after its fans stormed the field following the Sun Devils' win over Texas Tech, and not BYU.
