Even after T-Birds leave the nest and move on to life after college, they still remain vital to Southern Utah University’s culture. In fact, one of the most important aspects of the SUU community is watching alumni succeed with tools they learned during their time in Cedar City.
Two former Thunderbirds, Gary Reed and Bradford Boyer, not only represented SUU with one of their recent successes, but they did so on the largest public stage in the world. At the 2024 Super Bowl, Reed and Boyer were involved from the sidelines while the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers. Reed served as a member of the “chain crew,” a group of referees charged with moving the down markers, while Boyer joined one of the media sections.
The football showdown of the year isn’t the first time the two Las Vegas locals have worked an event together. Over their years involved in the city’s growing sport industry, Boyer and Reed have grown closer as friends every time they see each other at a football game. The Super Bowl, however, marked the incredible resolution of a long-term goal Reed made for the two of them.
“I talked to Brad probably 17 years ago, and I told Brad that he and I would work the Super Bowl together one day. When I said it to him, he probably thought I was a space cadet, but I meant it,” Reed said. “I don’t think either one of us thought the Super Bowl would come to us in Las Vegas. That’s storybook, Hollywood, can’t-make-it-up type of stuff.”
Despite Vegas not even having a National Football League stadium until 2020, their patience and persistence helped put them in the right position so that, when the circumstances fortunately lined up, they were both ready to rise to the occasion.
As a longstanding photographer and videographer that’s worked for nearly every news station in the area, Boyer not only jumps on offers to film sports events, he vigorously pursues them.
“You have to push a lot. I’ve been known to annoy people because I won’t just ask once, I’ll ask multiple times for stuff,” Boyer explained. “If you really want something, you just keep asking. If you are told no in one place, you go find another option.”
His determination has propelled him to seek involvement in many huge sporting moments, including the 2024 Super Bowl week. Boyer did most of his work for the event prior to the game, but his experience in the media box is one he’ll never forget.
“Right before kickoff, it’s electric. There’s an energy any time you walk into the stadium,” Boyer shared. “I know I’m not part of the game, but I feel like I’m going to play because I go out there and breathe it all in, and it’s a surreal moment. It’s addicting because you have that feeling of ‘Wow this is going to be awesome.’ Magnify that ten times, and that’s the Super Bowl.”
Although being a member of the credentialed media at the biggest football game in the world gave him a chance to represent his hometown of Vegas, Boyer’s impact has already been felt for years by high school athletes across the city.
In addition to the work he does for news organizations, Boyer also runs a YouTube page, Brad88ford, where he posts sports highlights that often help talented young athletes gain more recognition for their abilities.
Some of the players he has filmed in high school athletics committed to SUU, including Thunderbird football legends Miles Killebrew and LeShaun Sims. He even put together a video for Reed’s son so he could give the tape to recruiters if he wanted to play at the next level.
Reed’s job of keeping the game running smoothly according to the rules is very different from Boyer’s task of capturing the moment as a media observer. Yet, hard work has still been required for Reed to stay a part of the game of football.
Upon Reed’s graduation, the Thunderbirds lost an extremely talented defensive linebacker, and Reed himself had to find a new way to keep in touch with football when his eligibility ended. He initially considered coaching but wound up on a different path that took him to the Super Bowl.
“I caught the bug,” Reed shared. “I fell in love with officiating.”
As Reed gained experience as a referee, he acquired more and more opportunities. He has served as the Southern Nevada Officials Association Football Board Chair, refereed what may have been the final Pac-12 Championship and led as the head referee at the 2024 NFL Pro Bowl, where he ran into Killebrew, one of the most successful professional players to ever come out of SUU.
Seeing his fellow SUU alumnus, who received a Pro Bowl selection as the American Football Conference’s special teamer, was the highlight of Reed’s time at the competition.
“Out of all of those Pro Bowlers, there was only one I wanted a picture with, and it was Miles Killebrew,” Reed said.
After chances like that, Reed was used to refereeing on giant stages, but the Super Bowl was a whole new experience.
“I worked all week long with football functions. There was the ‘You Make The Call’ presentation at the NFL experience at the Mandalay Bay Thursday, Friday and Saturday. There was a stakeholders breakfast for coaches, officials and administrators at Caesar’s Palace,” Reed explained. “Every day there was stuff going on, and I was able to partake in a bunch of it.”
Like Boyer, Reed also continues to contribute to the SUU community and the next generation of football players. He spearheads an initiative to supply referees for youth football camps hosted by the Thunderbirds every summer.
Alumni like Reed and Boyer do a great deal to represent SUU and look out for the T-Bird family, but even they still have to learn and grow every day, evolving with the sports they are a part of.
“Be true to the game, and the game will be true to you,” Reed said. “The game owes you nothing. You have to continue to pursue excellence. Embrace it.”
Author: Kale Nelson
Photos courtesy of Gary Reed and Bradford Boyer
Editor: Kale Nelson
eic@suunews.net
This article was originally published in the Spring 2024 edition of the University Journal.
