MAFU Mentality: The Ron McBride Story

MAFU Mentality: The Ron McBride Story is a three part documentary on former University of Utah and Weber State Football Head Coach Ron McBride. This documentary includes never before told stories from former players, coaches, media members and even opponents . When Coach Mac took over as Head Coach at the University of Utah in 1990, the team had not been to a bowl game in nearly thirty years. Within a few years he changed that. The first episode focuses on the 1994 Utah team that Coach Mac led to a top 10 finish, the first in school history.Coach Mac's focus on recruiting Polynesian football players was a big part of the Utes turnaround, and as such we dedicate the second episode to his work with Polynesians. This work and success has led nearly every college and even NFL teams to copy this focus.The third episode is focused on Coach Mac's legacy, including his coaching at Utah and Weber State, and the impact of his foundation to benefit underprivileged youth in the state of Utah.

Each documentary episode, including extended interviews, will be available to watch for free on Coach Ron McBride’s WatchSports.com channel once the project is completed. You can subscribe to Coach Mac's channel for free to receive notifications when new content is uploaded to his channel. Below is one of the trailers you can watch now.

Coach Mac

Coach Ron McBride took over as Head Coach of the University of Utah football team in 1990. The program had not been to a Bowl game since 1964. His stated goal in his one page contract when becoming coach was to not get embarrassed by BYU.The influential coach helped change not just the fortunes of the University of Utah. He helped change college football in the process, by focusing a great deal of his recruiting efforts on Polynesian athletes. Due to McBride’s impact on the Polynesian community both on and off the field, he’s viewed as a Polynesian godfather.After building up the Utah program, Coach Mac spent time as an assistant at the University of Kentucky, and then served 5 years as the Head Coach at Weber State before retiring from coaching.In retirement, he has focused on helping underprivileged youth through his “Ron McBride Foundation.” The foundation provides after-school program funding for at-risk students in Utah from elementary to K12.

The 3 Episodes

Hear the stories that helped build the early foundation for the Utah Football team's success.

The 1994 Utes

This episode focuses on the 1994 team coached by Ron McBride. It was this team and season that is largely credited with turning the Utah Utes into a winning program. The 1994 team had wins over 1994 Pac-10 champion Oregon, No. 16 Colorado State and No. 18 BYU. They finished the season with a victory in the Freedom Bowl over No. 20 Arizona and its famed “Desert Swarm” defense.

Coach Mac's Polynesian Influence

This episode focuses on the impact that Coach McBride has had on the Polynesian community. Known as a Polynesian godfather, McBride recognized early-on what they could do on the football field. Not only have they become a continued staple of the Utes’ success, their impact is seen and felt all throughout football.

Coach Mac's Legacy

A heart of gold. A fierce competitor. A mentor and father-figure to many. McBride is a man of many superstitions. He also bucked coaching norms by becoming dear friends with his biggest rival, Coach Lavell Edwards at BYU. We look at his career, his overall impact on college football, and go into his post-coaching work through his foundation "The Ron McBride Foundation.”

Interviews

Currently, over 25 former players, coaches and influential leaders have been interviewed for the documentary.
Below are just a few of those who have been interviewed.

Kyle Whittingham

Head Coach, University of Utah
Hired by Coach Mac as an assistant coach after the 1993 season and has remained at the University of Utah ever since.

Kalani Sitaki

Head Coach BYU
Played at BYU against Utah when Mac was Head Coach and now mentored by Coach Mac.

Luther Ellis

Assistant Coach University of Utah
Played for Coach Mac at the University of Utah from 1991 - 1994; 1st Round Draft Pick in NFL

Morgan Scalley

Defensive Coordinator University of Utah
Played for Coach Mac at the University of Utah (2001 - 2002)

Gary Anderson

Former Head Coach, Utah State, Wisconsin, Oregon State and SUU
Both played for and was an assistant coach under Coach Mac at the University of Utah

Shareef Shah

Assistant Coach University of Utah
Played for Coach Mac at the University of Utah from 1990-1993; Covered the Utes football team as a media member from 1994-2002.

See previews with additional interviews here.

Donate to the making of the documentary with a tax deductible donation

We've partnered with the Utah Film Center for you to be able to make a tax deductible donation to help us finish this documentary.
Please be sure to put "MAFU Mentality: The Ron McBride Story" in the comments with your donation.A portion of the proceeds will benefit "The Ron McBride Foundation."Contact us if you have questions.

Please specify the Project Name Your Are Donating To: "MAFU Mentality: The Ron McBride Story"

Donate $50 to help us make the documentary.

Donate $250 to help us make the documentary and get an autographed football from Coach Ron McBride.

Donate $5,000 or more receive an "IMDB" credit as an Assistant Producer of the documentary.

Donate $100 to help us make the documentary.

Donate $1,000 and receive a "special thanks" in the credits at the end of the documentary.

Donate $10,000 or more receive an "IMDB" credit as an Executive Producer of the documentary.

Please specify the Project Name Your Are Donating To: "MAFU Mentality: The Ron McBride Story"

Donate $1,000 and receive a "special thanks" in the credits at the end of the documentary.

A limited number of sponsorship opportunities are available for the documentary

Please reach out to us if you have any questions regarding a tax deductible donation or if you would be interested in more information about being a presenting sponsor for this documentary.

Make a tax deductible donation to help with the documentary

We've partnered with the Utah Film Center so you can make a tax deductible donation to help us make this documentary.
Please be sure to put "MAFU Mentality: The Ron McBride Story" in the comments with your donation.A portion of the proceeds will benefit "The Ron McBride Foundation."Contact us if you have questions.

Donate Any Amount

Donate $50 to help us make the documentary.

Every Donation Helps and Is Tax Deductible!

Donate $100 to help us make the documentary.

Receive a Coach Mac Autographed Football

Donate $250 to help us make the documentary and get an autographed football from Coach Ron McBride.

Receive "Special Thanks" in Credits

Donate $1,000 and receive a "special thanks" in the credits at the end of the documentary.

Become An Associate Producer

Donate $5,000 or more receive an "IMDB" credit as an Assistant Producer of the documentary.

Become An Executive Producer

Donate $10,000 or more receive an "IMDB" credit as an Executive Producer of the documentary.

Make Your Tax Deductible Contribution!

You can also donate by sending a wire transfer or a check to the Utah Film Center. Please contact us for details.

Please specify the Project Name Your Are Donating To: "MAFU Mentality: The Ron McBride Story"

Interested in having your company receive ad space in the documentary?.

A limited number of sponsorship opportunities are available for the documentary

Contact us at the link below to become a sponsor for the documentary.

The Team Making the Documentary

Steve Gerritsen, Executive Producer

Steve Gerritsen is the Founder and CEO of both Streaming Ultra LLC and WatchSports.com LLC. Streaming Ultra LLC has built its own revenue sharing video platform, with WatchSports.com serving as the first site to be housed on this new platform. WatchSports.com allows all sports content creators to host their sports video content on their own channels. Prior to founding Streaming Ultra and WatchSports.com, Steve was the co-founder of Marketing 160; he spent eight years as an NFL Agent; and has been involved in a number of other startups. Steve is a graduate of the University of Utah. He served as a volunteer assistant to the recruiting coordinator of the football team during his Sr. year (2002 season), which was also Coach Ron McBride's last season as Head Coach at Utah.

McKay Pett, Producer

McKay Pett first got known to Utes football fans by doing highlight and hype videos. He then parlayed that into three seasons of working with Utah Football/Utah Athletics video (2013,2014, 2017) with the help of Morgan Scalley. He then went on to KSL Sports Producer for a year, accepting a position with Southern Utah from 2018-2021 as the Athletics Director of New Media. He’s a NACMA Award Winner. Pett left SUU in 2021 to start his own venture, Wing Pointe Studios.

Alex Markham, Director

Alex Markham has been covering the Utah sports scene since 2009. He’s most notable for delivering inside-knowledge as a go-to source for the University of Utah since 2011. His work has appeared in the Associated Press, Salt Lake Tribune, and Rivals.com where he’s the Publisher for UteNation.com. Markham has a longstanding friendship with Ron McBride, dating back to McBride’s time at Utah and hosting occasional podcasts with Coach Mac starting in 2017.

Contact us

Please fill out the form below if you are interested in being a sponsoring for the documentary or would like to discuss making a tax deductible donation.

Send your message here: