Most people have heard that Crumbl Cookies stepped in to pay BYU’s field rush fine after the Cougars’ Holy War win over Utah Saturday night.
Well, that’s not exactly the full story.
In the final minutes of the fourth quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium, BYU fans began crowding the lower seating areas, standing on benches and preparing for what was about to unfold.
No. 15 BYU was in the final moments of defeating No. 23 Utah in one of the most anticipated rivalry matchups. Over the loudspeakers came the message warning fans not to storm the field, reminding them that the Big 12 would fine BYU if they did.
With the deafening cheering inside stadium, who knows if that message was actually heard and even if it was, this is the Holy War, and Cougar Nation wasn’t going to stay in its collective seats.
As the clock ran down, the stands emptied and the field filled with thousands of celebrating fans. The ROC section led the storming of the field, joining the players in a mass of blue covering the turf. Even BYU President Shane Reese was lifted above the crowd, crowd-surfing through a swarm of excited fans.
It quickly spread that the Big 12 would fine BYU $50,000 for the field storming. In response, Crumbl Cookies CEO Jason McGowan offered to cover the fine himself. A Crumbl spokesperson said McGowan wanted to ensure BYU fans could celebrate the monumental win together on the field without guilt.
The moment in the BYU locker room the players found out I personally paid the fine to let the fans storm the field. Us donors and fans have our players backs, period. @BYUCougars pic.twitter.com/HzZrncLnP9
— Jason McGowan (@jasonmcgowan) October 20, 2025
BYU fans showed their appreciation by purchasing Crumbl cookies the following Monday. But just hours later, McGowan took to X with a surprising update: the Big 12 wasn’t going to fine BYU after all. Still, McGowan wanted to show support for the state of Utah and Cougar Nation.
“Because of your overwhelming support and inspired by Coach Kalani Sitake’s love for his opponents, every bit of student lunch debt in the Provo City and Salt Lake City school districts for all schools was wiped out this morning,” McGowan posted.
He added that funds originally set aside for the fine would also go toward supporting BYU’s name, image and likeness (NIL) initiatives for student-athletes.
BYU Fine Update
— Jason McGowan (@jasonmcgowan) October 22, 2025
No fine for BYU storming the field.
So here’s the play: instead of a fine, that money’s going straight to our players through an NIL.
And because of your overwhelming support and inspired by Kalani’s love for his opponents, every bit of student lunch debt in…
While BYU didn’t get issued a fine, the Big 12 has not been entirely consistent with its enforcement of field-storming penalties. Just last week, Arizona State was fined after fans stormed the field in its upset over Texas Tech because of violations of the conference’s sportsmanship and safety protocols.
During Colorado’s postgame press conference after fans rushed the field against Iowa State, head coach Deion Sanders expressed surprise that field storming could even result in fines, saying, "Who made that a rule?"
Deion loves the field storm, but has constructive advice for how to handle the fine 🤣 pic.twitter.com/x3h12GTRry
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 12, 2025
For now, BYU fans will continue embracing that moment on the field and the win until the Cougars and Utes meet again. What began as a viral rumor and good deed by one of the nation’s most popular cookie companies turned into a statewide act of charity that eliminated school lunch debt and boosted support for BYU’s athletes.
And while the Big 12’s enforcement of field-storming rules is still being figured out, Crumbl made sure Cougar Nation got to celebrate, no matter what.
