From the opening kickoff to the final whistle, Rice-Eccles Stadium is a cacophony of noise.
Some 51,444 fans are at full throat when the Utes score a touchdown or when the opposing defense is on the field. During the breaks in the three-plus-hour event, there’s still noise at all times, from the marching band to music blasting from the speakers to the in-game presenter hyping fans up or announcing the contest.
There is one moment, aside from when the Utes are on offense, when Rice-Eccles Stadium falls relatively silent — during the break following the end of the third quarter.
For six consecutive years, the “Moment of Loudness” has become a closely-held tradition at Utah, one born out of tragedy.
In the span of just nine months, two University of Utah football players died. Ty Jordan, a freshman running back, died from an accidental shooting on Christmas night in 2020. Nine months later, sophomore cornerback Aaron Lowe, who was friends with Jordan and changed his number to Jordan’s No. 22 for the upcoming season, was shot and killed at a party in September 2021.
It was an unimaginable loss for the players, staff and coaches within the Utah football program. Since the pair’s tragic passing, Utah has honored them in a multitude of ways, from retiring the No. 22, setting up a “22 Forever” memorial scholarship, and honoring Jordan and Lowe with hand-painted helmets featuring their likeness that were worn in the Utes’ memorable win over USC in 2022.
Each season, the program selects a recipient for the “22 Forever” scholarship that “exemplifies the inspiring qualities Ty and Aaron demonstrated.” Lowe was actually the first recipient of the scholarship when it was in honor of just Jordan. Other recipients include JaQuinden Jackson, Money Parks, Smith Snowden and, this year, Alex Harrison.
The most visible of the ways Utah has honored Jordan and Lowe is the “Moment of Loudness,” introduced Oct. 16, 2022, in a game against Arizona State. Instead of a moment of silence for the two players, Utah created a “moment of loudness” to celebrate their lives, accompanied by a video by Kyle Whittingham.
“Time and time again, you’ve heard of their smiles and how they could light up this stadium. Both Ty and Aaron exuded happiness and joy and they both defined what it meant to live, not just exist. To fight through hard times, to get back up when you fall, and to work to get 22% better every day. They left an impact on each of us and on you, our fans, that cannot be described,” Whittingham narrated.
“So today, we ask — in honor of Ty and Aaron — that you smile. Smile big like they did. Smile, stand, cheer and let your voices ring from the mountains to the heavens in a moment of loudness, exuberance, joy and celebration for the lives of Aaron Lowe and Ty Jordan.”
Over the years, the video has expanded to include fan-submitted photos of loved ones who have died and has become a celebration of the entire Utah football family — fans included.
With Whittingham gone, Utah made a new video for the “Moment of Loudness,” which debuted in Saturday’s win over Idaho. The new tribute featured narration from linebacker Devin Lloyd, cornerback Clark Phillips III, receiver Britain Covey, tight end Dalton Kincaid, cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah and head coach Morgan Scalley, each of whom played with or were on the coaching staff when Jordan and Lowe were at Utah.
Utah’s new LED lighting system allowed the bright stadium lights to be lowered, with only a red glow illuminating the stadium. Rice-Eccles Stadium fell silent as the video began.
“This moment has become our tradition. A tradition that honors the lives of Ty Jordan and A Lowe. Being a Utah Man is bigger than one person, one game or one season. It’s about being 22% better. Better for the guy next to you. Better for the guys who came before you and those who will come after you,” the video shares.
“And with the tradition comes a commitment to be infectiously optimistic, to work hard, to get 22% more, and to be 22% better. To lift one another, to stand together. To carry forward the legacy of those who helped build this place, and to embrace each day with the same joy, purpose, and energy that Ty and Aaron shared with all of us.
“So with love in our hearts. We invite you to stand, smile and let your voices ring from the mountains to the heavens. This is Utah. This is family. This is our Moment of Loudness.”
And with that, the crowd erupted as the submitted images of Utah fans that have passed on flashed on the screen.
College football isn’t the highest level of the sport, but the reason it is so beloved by fans is because of the emotional connection they have to their teams. Oftentimes, you went to school there, or your parents did, passing down their love for the team to you.
Families spend time tailgating and attending games or watching on TV together, creating lifelong memories. Season-ticket holders that sit next to each other for years, and even decades, become friends.
In a sport rooted in tradition — fight songs, chants and marching bands — the Moment of Loudness is unique, evolving to provide fans the opportunity to reflect on their loved ones before celebrating them in a cathartic way and giving the players and coaches another chance to celebrate Jordan and Lowe.
Utah’s creative team put together the latest video, and all of those players currently in the NFL came back to Rice-Eccles Stadium and the football facility to film it.
“For Clark, Dalton, and all those that were involved with that, they wanted to do that. So grateful for those guys. What a special moment just to keep that thing going,” Scalley said.
“We just had, unfortunately, some tragedy in this program that has caused a lot of tears, but now it really allows for us to really celebrate the heck out of them.”
— Utah coach Morgan Scalley
The willingness of the players to do that illustrates the strong bond the program has with its players.
“This is something that happened in our program that really shook our program. And so that, in my opinion, it just shows how tight we are as a family,” Scalley said. “The health of a college football program really, when you look at it, it’s determined by, are your alumni giving back? Do your guys come back? Do they give to the program?
“And we’ve got an unbelievable group of former players that love this place, want to see it succeed. The amount of text messages that we all got today and yesterday about how fired up everyone was, it’s really neat.”
While talking about the Moment of Loudness in his postgame press conference, Scalley took the opportunity to remember Gaius Vaenuku, a freshman defensive tackle who was killed in a car accident in 2013 before Utah opened the season.
“I’ll mention one other because I don’t know that we talk about him enough. Gaius Vaenuku, not a lot of people remember Gaius. Gaius was one that never played for us, but he came out of Euless (Texas), Trinity (High). He was there the summer before his freshman year, traveling home to surprise his mom, got in a car accident, he passed away. That whole family, I continue to stay in contact with them,” Scalley said.
For Utah, the Moment of Loudness continues to be a meaningful tradition and one that will continue well into the future.
“We just had, unfortunately, some tragedy in this program that has caused a lot of tears, but now it really allows for us to really celebrate the heck out of them,” Scalley said.
