This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Plenty of people post on message boards, and contrary to the popular notion about message board posters, some of them have acknowledged somebody else's good idea from time to time.
But how many of them have taken to the rooftop for somebody else's good idea?
Mark Sargent, 45, was browsing utefans.net years ago when he first saw a fellow poster suggest that the U. paint "UTAH" in block letters on the Einar Nielsen Fieldhouse roof, so that it could be seen by spectators in Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The idea came up again through the years, but to no end — the U. either didn't notice or wasn't overly inspired by it.
Sargent decided to make it happen.
Earlier this year, the Saratoga Springs mortgage lender went to lunch with a client who worked at the U. and hashed out how he'd get started.
Armed with renderings from local graphic designer Justin Dahl, Sargent swapped emails for months with Utah Athletics marketing. He surveyed the Fieldhouse roof with a U. roofer, a painter and a paint provider. Finally, last Thursday, he pitched the idea to the U.'s Facilities Management Review Committee, after blowing up the renderings to poster size at Costco.
I'll find the funds, he told them. I just need your permission.
"They all seemed to like it," he said. One told him it was a throwback to the old facility. Monday, Sargent also received the blessing of Utah Athletics.
In his vision, "UTAH" is spelled out between the gables, roughly 10 feet above the parapet wall, in 50-foot-by-45-foot crimson red letters, and outlined by white paint with reflective beads that will make it "pop."
He contemplated colored tiles, LED lighting and spotlighting, but for the cost, he found, it was hard to beat simple paint.
The paint, reflective beads and labor — plus 8 percent charged by crowdfunding site GoFundMe — totaled about $15,300.
Within one day, he'd gotten it.
The page became a spectacle of its own. Many online donors used the comment feature as a platform for shots at BYU and Utah's Pac-12 Conference opponents. Utah safeties coach Morgan Scalley chipped in. Late Wednesday night, Utah hoops legend Keith Van Horn donated $2,848 to break the barrier and give Sargent all he needs to put "UTAH" on the roof before the team's Sept. 3 opener against Michigan.
Almost. The U.'s administration still needs to give one final stamp of approval — a hurdle that hadn't been communicated to Sargent when he launched the fund — but there is no apparent opposition.
And Wednesday, athletic director Chris Hill helped alleviate any unease when he pledged complementary funding and to cover future maintenance and repair costs for the project.
"We appreciate the efforts that our loyal fan Mark Sargent has gone through to brand the roof of the Einar Nielsen Fieldhouse," Hill said in a statement. "... Although the schedule is still [being] finalized, we hope to be ready for our season opener against Michigan."
So, it seems, Sargent wins.
He may not be done, however. What about a banner to drape from the roof of the Behavioral Science Building?, he wonders.
He has a rendering.
And now, he has momentum.
— Matthew Piper
Twitter: @matthew_piper