Sports isn’t everything, but to a school interested in keeping its alumni connected, it is a powerful way to pull it off. A newly graduated Derek Miller learned of that firsthand in 2000 when he went to work in Washington, D.C., and the BYU football team came to town.
“I grew up (in Utah County) watching Gifford Nielsen, Steve Young, etc., but it wasn’t until I got outside of Utah and went to my first tailgate,” Miller told the “Y’s Guys” livestream show this week.
“We all drove down to Charlottesville, and when I say we, I mean like all of northern Virginia drove down to Charlottesville and participated in that tailgate. It was like a whole new part of the BYU sports experience.”
The Cougars rallied from a 21-0 deficit to beat Virginia 38-35 on an Owen Pochman field goal in overtime.
As BYU prepares for the 2026 season, Miller, the CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and Downtown Alliance, is also the new president of the BYU Alumni Association.
“It’s so exciting,” he said. “I just pinch myself whenever I think that a kid who went to Mountain View (in Orem) gets to be the president of the alumni association, especially at this time and for lots of reasons.”
Miller’s assignment, like his predecessors, is to keep the Cougars connected, past and present. In the eyes of Gov. Gary Herbert’s former chief of staff, BYU sports is the megaphone to spread the word, but service is the key to making a lasting difference.
Community impact
In just three years as a power conference program, BYU has turned road games into a carnival of goodwill, with tailgates and service projects that often leave opposing fans confused and impressed — at the same time.
“The thing we always hear, and it gets such great play on the local news across the country with these Big 12 schools and they talk about ‘BYU came to town and we held this service project, we collected all these books, we raised money for the widows of the local police and fire departments,’” Miller said.
“It’s not just a game that came to town (that) by Monday you have forgotten who won. This leaves a mark on their hearts that they will never forget.”
This fall, BYU will stage massive tailgates and Cougs Care service projects in Fort Collins, Colorado; Fort Worth, Texas; Orlando, Florida; Salt Lake City and Lawrence, Kansas. In addition, the goodwill concept will expand beyond sports to include the arts.
“What I’m really excited about is that it will go layers deeper into the community because it won’t be focused only on a (sports) tailgate,” Miller said. “We are talking now when our musicians, when our Young Ambassadors, when any of our performing arts are going into these communities across the country.
“Sports is obviously the big marquee, but there are some alums who don’t watch the sporting events. What is deep in their heart are these other things. For them to be able to connect to their fellow BYU alums as well as connect to their local community and whatever university they are visiting, it’s going to really expand this opportunity.”
Free ice cream
The tradition of handing out free ice cream to visiting fans will resume Sept. 5 when Utah Tech kicks off against BYU at LaVell Edwards Stadium (6 p.m, ESPN+).
Miller’s favorite distribution moment came last fall. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles noticed Miller and several others were leaving the president’s box early in the second quarter.
“He saw a few of us standing up and asked, ‘Where are you going?’” said Miller, who explained they were going to hand out ice cream to the UCF fans.
“I want to come help,” Elder Gong replied. And he did — walking up and down the north stands giving unsuspecting fans some of the best ice cream the BYU Creamery had to offer.
“In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints circles, Elder Gong blew up the internet by handing out the ice cream, and not just handing it, but passing it, too — spot on.”
Bear Bachmeier completed 21 of 25 passes for 289 yards and a touchdown against the Knights. Elder Gong’s completion rate is unknown, but the UCF fans-turned-receivers caught and gobbled up everything the southpaw tossed at them.
Special request
There are over 500,000 BYU alumni living in all parts of the world. Miller addressed a group of the newest alums recently at commencement and delivered a message for Cougars everywhere.
“I’d like to impress on every alum of what a special and unique place (it is) where they went to school. What makes it special and unique is because every experience they had was an opportunity to have a revelatory experience because it is an institution that is Christ-centered and prophetically led,” Miller said. “I told these graduates; the world is going to tell you to go make a name for yourself. I remember feeling that way – ‘Go make a name for myself now that I’m getting out of school.’
“But my challenge to them and to all alumni is you can do much better than that because you went to school at BYU — and that is, you can make a name for Christ in the world. What a special opportunity we have to do that.”
Miller’s ‘most influential’ BYU alumni
Football coaches: LaVell Edwards (BYU), Kalani Sitake (BYU), Andy Reid (Chiefs), Tom Holmoe (Cal), Kyle Whittingham (Michigan), Steve Sarkisian (Texas), Mike Leach (Texas Tech).
Says Miller of LaVell Edwards: “It would be heresy if we didn’t say LaVell Edwards. My gosh, the field is named after him. He transformed the entire game, and not just the college game.”
Quarterbacks: Steve Young, Jim McMahon, Robbie Bosco, Ty Detmer, Max Hall, Taysom Hill.
Says Miller of Steve Young: “He just embodies BYU football at the quarterback position. So fun to watch and so fun to watch him go into the USFL and NFL and play for the 49ers. Nothing but great memories.”
Basketball players: Kresimir Cosic, Tina Gunn, Danny Ainge, Jimmer Fredette
Says Miller of Kresimir Cosic: “This one is even harder than the quarterback, but I’m going to say Cosic. I was on a riverboat cruise on the Danube about five years ago and there was a woman on that cruise from the former Yugoslavia. When I told her the story about how Kresimir came to BYU, she didn’t know that. She (only) knew him after as this great player in Yugoslavia.
“She was not a member of the church, but I told her the story of how he was staying up late at night to translate the Book of Mormon into his native language and she was just crying. She was so moved. I think the influence that he’s had, I’m gonna put him as No. 1.”
Civic leaders: Ezra Taft Benson (Secretary of Agriculture), Rex E. Lee (U.S. Solicitor General), Dallin H. Oaks (Utah Supreme Court Justice), Mitt Romney (Governor of Massachusetts, Utah senator, presidential candidate).
Says Miller of Mitt Romney: “When we are talking about just civics, if it was anything else, if you hadn’t put that qualifier in, of course, I would say our prophet Dallin H. Oaks, but Mitt Romney would be the one who has had the greatest influence, in my mind, in our civic society.”
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.