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BYU football players and Westridge Elementary students celebrated an improved library project Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Provo.

Courtesy Provo City School District

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BYU football players and Westridge Elementary students celebrated an improved library project Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Provo.

Courtesy Provo City School District

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Cosmo and a Westridge Elementary student celebrate an improved library project Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Provo.

Courtesy Provo City School District

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BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier and a Westridge Elementary student celebrate an improved library project Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Provo.

Courtesy Provo City School District

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If BYU football’s top-10 matchup against Notre Dame on Saturday goes the way Cougar fans hope, it will be a game to remember.

Students at a Provo elementary school already experienced an unforgettable moment this week, though, thanks to a unique college football initiative.

In partnership with BYU and the Big 12 Conference, the College Football Playoff Foundation awarded Westridge Elementary an estimated $40,000 library makeover fitted with new furniture and updated reading spaces. District spokesman Caleb Price said the improvements will make the library a more inviting and comfortable place for students to grow their love of reading. 

There to celebrate the improved library with the students were BYU football players Bear Bachmeier, Raider Damuni and Cade Uluave, BYU Athletic Director Brian Santiago and Cosmo.

“The kids loved it,” said Provo City School District spokesman Caleb Price. “The players spent 20 minutes after the program just hanging out in the library, talking to the kids about reading and football, and everything in between.”

The initiative was brought to the district by BYU, which had been invited by the Big 12 Conference and the CFP Foundation to participate in a community service event. Price said BYU asked the district if they needed any project help, and district officials identified the school library.

“They just kind of ran with it,” Price said. “The district wasn’t really involved until we showed up today to see them unveil it.”

The event also featured a surprise Price wasn’t expecting: Westridge educator Shanna Bonnett received $1,000 in DonorsChoose classroom resources through the CFP Foundation’s Extra Yard for Teachers initiative. 

The project is the second time in as many years that the district has benefited from a BYU football-related gesture. Last November, after BYU defeated Utah, Crumbl owner Jason McGowan promised to pay a fee for a field rush, but redirected the money after the fee was waived, and paid off more than $30,000 in school lunch debt.

Price said BYU football and its recent exposure have “inadvertently” led to some additional community support, and that the district values its relationship with the university.

“We’re in the same city and we’re pretty much neighbors with our campuses, so it is a relationship that we value, and going forward, any opportunity we have to partner and help kids in Provo is a good thing,” he said.