By Michael Bingham
The BYU Cougar Club held its inaugural professionals dinner auction Tuesday night, June 8, in the new indoor practice facility in an effort to raise general funds for BYU athletics.
In total, 71 items were auctioned off in a silent and live auction format. Collectively, the auctions raised a healthy $72,190.
'It was unbelievable,' Athletic Development Assistant Robbie Bosco said. 'I don''t think we anticipated the type of bids people would make, but we had a lot of great items.'
The auction was a sports fanatics dream. Items up for auction ranged from a Rafael Araujo autographed basketball to bats and balls signed by former major leaguers Wally Joyner, Cory Snyder and Tony Gwynn.
'For an inaugural event, I think we did fantastic,' said KSL Radio 1160 personality Greg Wrubell, who hosted the event. 'People were very generous. I mean, there were some great items, hunting with Ty Detmer, for example, that just stuff that you don''t see every day.'
An all expenses paid trip for four to hunt with former BYU quarterback Ty Detmer on his Texas ranch was the most sought-after item of the night. The Cougar Club successfully auctioned two Detmer hunting trips for a total of $32,000.
'This was awesome,' Peter Pilling, senior associate director of men''s athletics, said. 'I thought if we could get to 50 , it would be a home run.'
The evening wasn''t void of humorous moments. When it came time for an opening bid on two sideline tickets for the upcoming BYU/USC football game, head coach Gary Crowton was the first to raise his hand to make a bid, drawing immediate laughter from the crowd.
The festivities appeared to go off with out a hitch. LaVell Edwards was among the many BYU celebrities that many guest had the opportunity to fraternize with.
'We''re here because we are obviously fond of BYU,' Edwards said. 'We want them to succeed and do well in athletics, but besides the additional revenue to support the teams, I think it''s important to have support from the fans and having them be apart of the program, and these types of activities allow that kind of participation.'
Bosco, who left the football team as quarterback coach after the end of the 2003 season to head up the athletic departments fundraising effort, was pleased with effort of those around him that helped make this fund raiser possible.
'It was a lot of fun and we put forth a great effort,' Bosco said. 'I think the people involved did an outstanding job of getting everything ready to go. I am very happy with how it turned out.'
This round of fundraising was capped off with a golf tournament at Promontory golf course Wednesday.