The George H. Brimhall Memorial Essay Contest was established by the Brimhall Family Organization in 1993 to encourage students to gain a deeper appreciation for the founders of Brigham Young University. The contest is run by the Student Alumni Association and occurs every year as part of the university homecoming celebration.

Although the Brigham Young University Alumni Association changed its name when Brigham Young Academy became a university, it had already existed alongside the Academy since 1893. During the years 1926 to 1938, it was generally known as the Associated Alumni of Brigham Young University. It has been an active member organization in the American Alumni Council since 1926. In 2009, the Alumni Association gave up its governing and fiduciary responsibilities and became an advisory body to the Department of Alumni Relations. Past presidents include Brent Romney (2002-2004), Carr Krueger II (2004-2006), J. Craig McIlroy (2006-2008), Bruce Olsen (2008), Dee T. Allsop (2008-2010), and Chris Feinauer (2010- ).

The Alumni Association is dedicated to promoting the welfare of the University and to keeping alumni interest alive in the university. To achieve these goals, the Association has, over the years: organized alumni clubs; hosted events such as receptions, reunions, and parades; raised funds for scholarships, athletic programs, and campus housing projects; and sponsored student programs. Fundraising functions shifted over time, and the Alumni Association is no longer actively involved in fundraising efforts. The Alumni Association has produced several publications. Through the sponsorship of the Alumni Association, the descendants of former Brigham Young University president George H. Brimhall honor the founders of Brigham Young University with the yearly Brimhall Essay Contest. The competition is designed to encourage high levels of scholarship among Brigham Young University students and promote their understanding and appreciation of Brigham Young University's mission and the legacy and challenges of its founders.

George Henry Brimhall was born in Salt Lake City on December 9, 1852, to George Washington Brimhall and Rachel Ann Mayer. At age eighteen, he attended high school at the Timpanogos Branch of the University of Deseret in nearby Provo taught by Warren and Wilson Dusenberry. He and some friends built a school they named the Young Men’s Academy. There Brimhall met Alsina Elizabeth Wilkins, a student at the academy, whom he married in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City on December 28, 1874. Together, they had six children. In September 1885, Brimhall married a second wife, Flora Robertson, in the Logan Temple. Together, they had eight children.

He gained teacher’s certificates and diplomas and was elected superintendent of Utah County Schools and Provo City Schools. In 1891, the BYA board of trustees chairman, Abraham O. Smoot, asked Brimhall, to join Brigham Young Academy’s teaching staff and head the Normal (teacher training) Department. Brimhall received the degree of Bachelor of Pedagogy and became BYA Alumni Association’s first president. He received all of his higher education at BYA or BYU.

In 1898, Brimhall became a member of the General Church Board of Education. From 1900 to 1902, while Benjamin Cluff Jr. was away, he became acting principal of BYA. In December 1903, he received a letter from Joseph F. Smith asking him to be the president of the newly renamed Brigham Young University. He was inaugurated as BYU’s second president on April 16, 1904 with Joseph B. Keller and Edwin S. Hinckley as his counselors.

Brigham Young University underwent a great deal of change under Brimhall’s tenure. Student enrollment expanded, the degree of bachelor of pedagogy was replaced by the Bachelor of Arts and a master’s degree was offered. In addition, The Banyan, the university's first yearbook was published, the block Y on a mountain above campus had been painted, thirty-seven acres of the upper (present) campus had been acquired, the first honorary degree had been conferred, and two new buildings (the Maeser Memorial Building and the Mechanic Arts Building, now known as the Brimhall Building) had been erected on upper campus.

Brimhall was released as president of BYU in 1921. He remained on campus and continued with his work for Church seminaries and as a member of the General Board of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. Brimhall died on July 29, 1932 in Provo, Utah.