Jazz, Mammoth Owner Ryan Smith highlights BYU’s deep roster of donors
Sep 28, 2026, 11:03 PM
PROVO — Utah Jazz and Utah Mammoth owner Ryan Smith doesn’t shy away from his passion for BYU.
The BYU graduate is often seen in the “Hollywood seats” next to the BYU bench at men’s basketball games in the Marriott Center. Whether it’s a big home game against Kansas or against a program you’ve never heard of, Ryan Smith is usually there.
In a recent interview on Front Office Sports’ Portfolio Players, Smith was asked about his NIL commitments to his alma mater.
The Jazz Governor, who enters his seventh year overseeing his hometown team, noted his ties to BYU. He has shared a similar background on why he supports BYU with KSL Sports in the past.
Smith was asked whether he looks at other billionaire donors, such as Mark Cuban at Indiana or Larry Ellison at Michigan, and whether that affects how much he puts into BYU.
“I’m sure there’s some scenario when I’m no longer here, they’re going to get a big chunk of whatever I’ve got. I mean, there’s no secret to that,” Smith said to Front Office Sports about his donations to BYU. “But that’s the right thing to do because that’s where it all started. It’d be really weird if they didn’t. You’ve got to remember where you came from, and I came from there.”
Ryan Smith highlights active, large alumni donor base for BYU athletics
Smith then continued by highlighting the deep roster of alums that donate to BYU athletics.
“As far as, you know, putting your thumb on the scale and really helping, the fortunate thing about BYU is –people don’t know this– but we have one of the largest alumni that’s out there, most active. … There’s a couple of schools out there from an entrepreneurship standpoint, but the roster is deep. And that’s why BYU is in the spot that they are in, because it’s not just me. It is a lot of people.
“Where some of these schools have one person who’s taken on their full-time job to go do some sort of NIL. That’s not BYU. It’s a lot of people. Similar to probably Notre Dame.”
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSL and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
