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BYU mascot Cosmo in front of fans at a football game
BYU is one of the many schools that have a mascot that’s tasked with pumping up the crowds and mingling with fans during sporting events. However, it is charging a very hefty sum for a brief meet-and-greet with the cougar known as Cosmo during the upcoming football season.
Most people know Brigham Young University is the largest Mormon college in the country. The school can trace its roots back to the eponymous founder who served as the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the religious institution that continues to run (and fund) things in Provo.
In 2025, the church reportedly funneled more than $1.3 billion dollars in tithing to subsidize educational efforts at BYU. However, you may be surprised to learn that its athletic department doesn’t receive a single cent, as it operates as “a self-sustaining entity and receives no direct financial support from The Church.”
That arm of the school relies on money from private donors and the revenue it generates from athletic events to stay afloat, which may help to explain the exorbitant fees it’s charging to rub shoulders wth its mascot and other “experiences” at football games this fall.
BYU is charging fans over $3,000 for a personal meet-and-greet with its mascot when they play Notre Dame
BYU is obviously far from the only school that is constantly dreaming up ways to separate fans from their hard-earned money, and Cougars supporters will have plenty of options on that front based on the list of “Experiences” they can pick from to enhance their attendance at football games this season.
It’s kind of hard to be surprised by the lengths athletic departments are willing to go to in order to make money during the NIL Era. With that said, I also think it’s fair to be slightly offended by the kind of audacity that’s on full display here.
Every Experience offered on BYU’s website is accompanied by a fee that does not include a ticket to the home game where they’re available, and it also boasts three separate pricing tiers: the lowest is for its season opener against FCS squad Utah Tech, but things escalate for Big 12 opponents before reaching the highest tier for its showdown with Notre Dame on October 17th.
I can’t knock anybody who can afford to pay extra to join players and coaches for the pregame Cougar Walk and get the chance to snap a photo on the field, but there is one particular Experience that’s a bit hard to fathom: an In-Seat Visit From Cosmo, the team’s mascot.
Roaming the stadium and taking pictures with fans is one of the primary duties of a college football mascot, but if you want Cosmo to go out of his way to meet you when the Cougars play the Fighting Irish, you’ll have to shell out a staggering $3,203.06 (which includes the taxes and fees on top of the $3,000 base price).
If you feel like that’s too steep, it’s worth noting that it’s “only” $1,602.45 for games featuring Big 12 opponents and a relatively modest $1,068.91 for the Utah Tech showdown.
It’s unclear how long Cosmo will hang around once he arrives, but it’s worth noting every single one of those numbers is higher than the hourly rate that almost every college mascot in the country charges to attend a wedding—including Cosmo himself, whose off-campus fee starts at $300 an hour.
What a world.