Crumbl CEO pays off student lunch debt after BYU reports no game day fines

SALT LAKE CITY – The CEO of Utah-based dessert company Crumbl paid off student lunch debt for some of Utah’s students Wednesday, after learning that BYU was not fined after fans stormed the field Saturday.

Crumbl CEO and self-described “BYU supporter,” Jason McGowan, offered to pay potential fines over fans who stormed the field after BYU’s win at the rivalry game against the Utes Saturday.

“I was on the field at the time when everything was going down, and there was a lot of energy and excitement. … So I leaned over and said, ‘hey, what if I, what if I took care of the fine so everyone can just celebrate together,'” McGowan said. “And, of course, the fans stormed the field and, and it was just an exciting moment.”

McGowan said he was prepared to pay about $50,000. “But I was willing to pay whatever the fine was, so I committed to that.”

However, the Big 12 Conference is reportedly not going to fine BYU, the conference said Wednesday, “but McGowan decided to keep the spirit of generosity alive.”

“So here’s the play,” McGowan said in a post on X, “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 Provo City and Salt Lake City school districts for all schools was wiped out this morning. Love you, Cougar Nation.”

Later, McGowan told KSL that he felt it would be wrong to not do something for the team and the community.

“My immediate thought was, ‘okay, well, I’ve pledged this money,’ and so many people had supported crumble. It kind of felt like my new thought was, like, ‘it feels wrong, like, even though I’m sort of off the hook from paying … the fine, it felt like not right for me not to do something for the team and something maybe even for the community,” he said.

So what McGowan did for the team was donate NIL money to the players. NIL, which stands for name, image, and likeness, allows players to legally control how their image is used. In 2021,  the NCAA approved the policy to allow student athletes to “monetize their personal brand and endorsements while participating in college sports,” according to the Utah law.

“I’m going to work with Kalani and the team to figure out, you know, how best they want to use that,” he said.

As for the money for school lunches, McGowan didn’t wait long to fulfill that promise. By Wednesday afternoon, the money was paid.

“I’ve already taken care of it, it’s actually already been paid. The debts have been paid off in full.”

McGowan didn’t want to say how much it cost to pay off school lunch debt for students in two school districts.

“It was a lot more than the 50,000 I’m going to give for the school,” he said. “But I’m happy to do it.”

Contributing: Heather Peterson, KSL NewsRadio reporter/anchor