BYU fan gives away Notre Dame football tickets to deserving families

PROVO — Ahead of Saturday's BYU-Notre Dame football game, the matchup of two undefeated, Top 10 teams was being billed as possibly the biggest game ever at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Understandably, that type of hype had single ticket prices ranging Wednesday on online platforms like SeatGeek and StubHub from close to $400 to thousands of dollars per seat.

At a time like that, lifelong BYU fan and SponsorCX CEO Jason Smith said something didn't quite sit right about selling his six tickets when he wasn't able to attend due to out-of-town travel. He wanted to do something different: give them away to three families who had never experienced a BYU home game together in person.

"It just hit me," Smith said during an interview with KSL on Wednesday. "I was like, you get to go to so many BYU sporting events, and there's so many people who are huge BYU fans that never get to go."

Smith went to LinkedIn as well as Instagram and Facebook with his plan.

"I have six tickets to the upcoming BYU vs. Notre Dame game that I'd love to give to three parents and their kids who are huge BYU fans but have never had the chance to attend a game together," the Facebook post stated. "Three parents. Three kids. Three unforgettable memories."

He said he was expecting possibly only a few responses to his posts, and instead he received 324.

"I'm going to read through every single one of them," Smith said.

Smith said he was touched by all the messages, which he categorized as 236 direct submissions and 86 nominations.

"It does kind of tug at the emotions a little bit when it comes to, you know, wanting to provide it for all of them, right?" Smith said. "That's the hard part."

Smith said he planned to narrow the 324 submissions down to 10, and then select the 3 family recipients Wednesday evening with the help of his wife and kids.

He said he hoped to bring an experience to others that he himself cherished deeply.

"One of the biggest parts of my life is BYU football and BYU sports, and that connection, you know, to it just means — it means so much," Smith said. "That will leave a pretty lasting impression on their minds and their hearts for a long time."

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