If there's any institution that could potentially pull this off, it would be us. We know that, through alumni and through the Cougar Club, we have fans everywhere. – David Almodova, assistant athletic director and director of marketing and promotions at BYU
PROVO — BYU fans all across Utah ran from one end of the state to the other on Saturday in search of elusive blue boxes filled with Cougar swag. While it's common for colleges to run these kind of promotions leading up to the start of football season, Saturday's events were part of a much larger promotion: BYU50.
The BYU50 promotion, which started on July 17 in Alabama, will drop at least one box in all 50 states. In addition, BYU will also drop boxes in several countries across the world leading up to the season opener at Nebraska on Sept. 5.
The idea of this massive undertaking took root about three years ago.
"Three years ago on the first day of fall camp, we decided to drop some boxes around the state of Utah and do a social media scavenger hunt," said David Almodova, assistant athletic director and director of marketing and promotions at BYU. "We quickly found out from feedback we received from all over the country that there were fans saying, 'Hey, what about us? We live here, we'd love to have a box dropped in our state.' So, when that day ended we talked it over with the staff and said we can do this."
Thus BYU50 was born.
BYU successfully dropped off at least one BYU50 box in all 50 states last season, but Almodova and the marketing staff weren't satisfied with doing just that.
"After last year, we got together and asked ourselves, how do we top it? How do we make it better?,'' Almodova said. "I think because we have a national fan base, and if you go bigger than that, we have a worldwide fan base."
BYU is making BYU50 a worldwide promotion.
So far, BYU has dropped boxes in American Samoa and Costa Rica. BYU football head coach Bronco Mendenhall dropped off the Coast Rica box. The Cougars aren't done with their international drops just yet.
"We're looking to do Australia right now, and we're looking at some places in China. We're going to do some surprise drops — China, Australia, Europe," Almodova said. "We'll let people know two or three days out."
All told, BYU will give away about 130 BYU50 boxes in this promotion.
"If there's any institution that could potentially pull this off, it would be us. We know that, through alumni and through the Cougar Club, we have fans everywhere," Almodova said.
Saturday, it was Utah's turn. That day was chosen to coincide with the opening of BYU football's fall camp. From Logan to St. George, 33 boxes were given out in the state of Utah alone.
And Utah's boxes had a special twist: Instead of simply being the first to arrive at the box, fans competed in various challenges to earn the coveted boxes. Those challenges included kicking field goals, swimming across reservoirs and racing up the mountain to the "Y."
By the way, Ethan Nielsen and Peter Vogel ran up to the "Y" in 19 minutes and eight seconds to claim one of the boxes.
Shelby Nelson was another such competitor at LaVell Edwards Stadium. She was the only woman out of 10 people to compete in the field goal kicking contest, but she came away with the box after being the only one to drill a 25-yard attempt right between the uprights.
"There was a bunch of dudes doing it with me, so it was pretty cool that I won," Nelson said. She didn't have any experience kicking field goals, but she had plenty of experience with kicking as she played soccer growing up. She also jokingly campaigned to join the BYU team this fall.
"Tell Bronco to give me a call. I'm on the team," Nelson said with a laugh.
Nelson has been paying attention to this promotion for some time. "We were in Colorado when they were dropping the 50 box, and we missed it there. We're really glad we were able to do it in Provo."
Mike Maughan and Nathalia Myrrha earned their BYU50 box in a different way: They won the swacho eating competition at Bam Bam's BBQ in Orem. For those who don't know, swachos are nachos covered with BBQ meat.
"They were great for the first two minutes," Maughan said about the swachos. "Too much nacho cheese, but the meat was good."
Maughan and Myrrha were compete strangers before pairing up and taking the prize. "I actually left my wife at 180 Tacos. I took my first bite of dinner and I got the word, so I ran out," Maughan said. "I left my phone there and left everything. I ran in and [Myrrha] was here waiting. They said they needed teams, so we teamed up."
"I was going to buy a mattress at Mattress Deal, and my roommates called me and said hey, you need to go to Bam Bam's right now, and I was super close. I was the first one," Myrrha said.
Both Maughan and Myrrha were impressed with the promotion. "We've been following it all day," Myrrha said. "We're pretty excited."
Amarissa Morehouse, Marc Brimhall, Ryan Robinson and Jake Bangerter won the final four BYU50 boxes of the day as they won a 4x50 yard relay as a team.
"I've been watching Facebook all day," said Brimhall. "I've been trying to watch and see strategically where I could get somewhere quick. So, I've been watching all day long, pushing the refresh button waiting for the next picture to come up."
"This has made us come together like crazy," Morehouse said. "I've never seen me and my friends try so hard to get something."
"It unites Cougar Nation," said Robinson. "I mean, to have 50 states. I've been following it all along with the different states that they're sending it to, and it's really cool to watch. The same excitement we saw here is out there in a lot of other states."
Naturally, this promotion has produced a lot of interesting stories.
"Last year, we dropped a box in Utah Lake," Almodova said. "We took a box and put it on a raft and posted it. About six or seven minutes after it was posted, we saw two boats coming from a distance right toward the boat we were on. As they got closer, you could tell they were going for the box. Two people jumped from one boat, and one jumped from the other boat, and they swam. The guy got the box first and he won it."
Of course, the neat stories aren't limited to Utah.
"We did one in Louisville, Kentucky last year," Almodova said. "The lady who was going to drop the box had a place picked out. She drove out to that location, and there was a bunch of BYU fans walking around the area. So, she decided to go to another location and there was more BYU fans walking around there. So, she went to a third location, and she actually put it on the bridge. She said after she dropped it and we posted it, she saw a bunch of Cougar fans just running up that bridge."
And, as with many things at BYU, this promotion is often a family affair.
"Last year in Salt Lake, there was a kid who was 8 years old," Almodova said. "And it was the day of his baptism. So, he was on his dad's phone following it. He told his parents, 'Hey, I can't get baptized today.' His parents asked him why, and he told them, 'We need to get a box.' So, his mom and dad were trying to explain to him that we need to do this."
"After a time, his parents talked him into [the baptism]. So, the kid's feeling really bad, and he's on his way to the stake center to get baptized. And he's in the car and he's on his dad phone, and the post comes. And it's at a church. Not the one where he's going to get baptized, but it's a church on the way to where they're going. And he just starts freaking out, saying 'Dad, Dad, the box is right down the street.' So, they go. As they're pulling in, he jumps out of the car and runs and wins the box. Later that day, as he was talking with his parents, he says, 'You know, it was a good thing it was my baptism day, because that's why I won the box!'"
While Utah's drops are done, the promotion is far from over. There remains 27 states plus Washington, D.C., and a few international boxes, culminating in Nebraska on Sept. 5.
And if this year is any indication, the folks at BYU will have something even bigger next season.
For more information on BYU50, check out its website.
Lafe Peavler is a staff sports writer for the Deseret News. Follow him on Twitter @LafePeavler.