SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – In honor of former players Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe, the Utes football program announced that it will call its annual spring game the “22 Forever Game,” beginning next month on, appropriately enough, April 22nd.
Jordan and Lowe, who both wore #22, tragically passed away within ten months of each other in 2020 and 2021.
The past two seasons, Utah’s spring game proceeds have gone to the 22 Forever Memorial Scholarship, and that tradition will continue on April 22.
The number 22 was officially retired in 2021, but the meaning behind the number has lived on in the fans, the coaches and the players.
“22 Forever means that we let Ty and Aaron’s legacy live on by how we live our lives,” linebacker Karene Reid said. “It means that we don’t take this life we have for granted. It is beyond football. It is about family and being there for the ones we love. 22-percent is also a commitment to being that much better in everything we are a part of. It is about showing gratitude in the way that we work.”
“For me, 22 Forever and 22-percent better means so much to me about work ethic,” safety Cole Bishop said. “I never got the opportunity to meet Ty, but I did meet and play with Aaron. He was always a hard worker. Him no longer being able to play has motivated me to treat every day like it is my last. It will be something I keep with me forever.”
“22-percent is a reminder not to take life for granted and to make the most out of every day,” defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley said. “Aaron and Ty lived life with a smile, even when it may have been painful to do so. Their legacy is an example of competitive excellence filled with an immense amount of gratitude for the simple things, and because of them, I fight to improve every day.”
The Utes continue to honor the legacy of Lowe and Jordan through the Moment of Loudness at home games, even taking the tradition on the road to the Pac-12 Championship game and the Rose Bowl the last two seasons.
The phrase 22-percent better was born in the team meeting room and at Lowe’s Celebration of Life in Mesquite, Texas. It was there that cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah made a promise.
“I will be 22-percent better in all of the capacities that God has placed me in. That’s Aaron to me. That was Aaron to all of his brother that sat here, every single coach that loved him. That was Aaron. So as I sit down, I just want you to remember to please live as Aaron lived. Be infectiously optimistic, not just positive, be infectiously optimistic.”
