BYU fans have helped raise thousands of dollars for an ailing member of the Texas Tech family

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BYU fans have helped raise thousands of dollars for an ailing member of the Texas Tech family
Fans in the student section hold up a BYU banner during a football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022.
Fans in the student section hold up a BYU banner during a football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022.
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Ben B. Braun, Deseret News

On Saturday, BYU and Texas Tech will face off in a football game with massive playoff implications for both sides.

But ahead of Saturday’s action, fans of the two programs have teamed up to do an inspiring amount of good.

A few weeks ago, Red Raiders fan Maddie Ortiz was involved in a severe car accident, resulting in lengthy and costly hospital stays along with an understandably heavy emotional toll.

Maddie’s husband, Ivan, is the team barber for Texas Tech football, and has had to take time off work in order to care for his wife and their 3-year-old son.

Since Ivan’s income comes entirely from commission, being away from work has made the Ortiz family’s already-complicated circumstances even more financially stressful.

Thus, Ivan launched a GoFundMe online fundraiser a few days ago with a goal of $25,000 to help ease the financial burden of Maddie’s recovery.

On Tuesday, BYU fan Devin Payne — who posts on X under the handle @SportyMcSports — shared the link to Ivan’s GoFundMe and encouraged Cougar Nation to “show (the Ortiz family) our love and support by Jimmering this GoFundMe!”

When other BYU fans came across the fundraiser, they went right to work.

At the time of Payne’s post on Tuesday, Ivan had raised less than $6,000. As of Wednesday morning, the fundraiser has resulted in more than $63,000 in donations, far more than doubling the initial goal of $25K.

Many of the more than 1,200 listed donations on the site have come from BYU fans, who have left messages such as “Go Cougs!” or “So much love from Cougar Nation!”

The current top contribution came from ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who will be in Lubbock this Saturday to call the BYU-Texas Tech game and sent $5,000 for Ivan and Maddie.

In addition to Herbstreit, another anonymous supporter pitched in $5,000, and Quick Quack Car Wash co-founder Travis Kimball donated $1,984 as a nod to BYU’s national championship-winning season.

Red Raider fans have expressed their appreciation for the support from the BYU community, remarking that it’s been a very different “hate week” leading up to Saturday’s high-stakes contest. Here are some of the most notable such posts from X.

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