Utah Utes
Utah Utes | |
---|---|
Utah Man | |
Colors | Red and white[1] |
Website | www |
The Utah Utes are the
Currently Utah competes in the
Utah offers a total of 19 varsity sports—seven for men, 11 for women, and one coeducational. Baseball, football, golf, and lacrosse are sponsored for men only. Beach volleyball, cross country, gymnastics, indoor track & field, indoor volleyball, outdoor track & field, soccer, and softball are sponsored for women only. Basketball, swimming & diving, and tennis are sponsored for both sexes. The coeducational sport is skiing; while schools have separate men's and women's squads, the NCAA awards a single national team championship. Utah's newest varsity sport is men's lacrosse, which played its first season in 2019 (2018–19 school year).[6]
Varsity sports
Men's sports | Women's sports |
---|---|
Baseball | Basketball |
Basketball | Beach volleyball |
Football | Cross country |
Golf | Gymnastics |
Lacrosse | Soccer |
Swimming and diving | Softball |
Tennis | Swimming and diving |
Tennis | |
Track and field† | |
Volleyball | |
Co-ed sports | |
Skiing | |
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor |
Baseball
The baseball team is made up of 32 Division I players from across the country and the world. 14 players are from Utah, 8 from Arizona, 4 from California, 2 from Nevada, and 1 from Louisiana, Oregon, Idaho, and the Netherlands. The Utes call Smith's Ballpark their home field. Smith's Ballpark was previously known as Franklin Covey Field but was changed in 2009 to Spring Mobile Ballpark, and again in 2014 to its present name. Smith's Ballpark is also the home of the Salt Lake Bees, Triple-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels. The Utes are departing Smith's Ballpark after the 2024 season for a new on-campus ballpark to be called America First Ballpark.[7]
The Utah baseball team has won 1 Mountain West Conference Championship, occurring in 2009. This gave the Utes a regional berth for the first time since the 1960s. In the past 3 years Utah baseball has seen 6 of their players get drafted in the annual Major League Baseball draft, including C. J. Cron, first baseman for the Colorado Rockies.
Men's basketball
The Runnin' Utes basketball program has the 9th-most wins among college basketball programs.[8] The Utes have made 27 NCAA Tournament appearances, which ranks 7th all-time, while the Utes 10 outright conference championships (28 championships overall) is the 5th best in NCAA history. In March 2021, Craig Smith was named head coach of the Utes.[9]
Andrew Bogut was selected #1 in the 2005 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, making the University of Utah the only school in NCAA history to produce the #1 draft pick in both the NBA and NFL in the same year (Alex Smith). Other notable players that have gone on to play in the NBA are Delon Wright, Andre Miller, Keith Van Horn, Michael Doleac, Danny Vranes and Tom Chambers. The Utes have also been coached by several top NCAA coaches, including Vadal Peterson – the winningest coach in Utah basketball history, hall of fame coach Jack Gardner, Bill Foster and Rick Majerus.
The Utes have played in four
Women's basketball
The team is coached by
In the
Football
The University of Utah college football program began in 1892. Their current home stadium,
After a twenty-eight year stretch of not playing in a bowl game, Utah football experienced a resurgence in the early 1990s under head coach Ron McBride. The Utes played Washington State in the 1992 Copper Bowl, losing to the Cougars 31–28, and reached their peak under McBride when they finished the 1994 season ranked 10th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and recorded a 16–13 victory over Arizona in the Freedom Bowl. The team was the first Mountain West Conference team, as well as the first team from a BCS non-AQ conference, to play in and win a BCS bowl.
The Utes have a 171–89 (.658) record since the beginning of the 2000 season. Along the way, Utah engineered an eighteen-game winning streak. They produced an undefeated season in 2004, when the Utes were 12–0 and became the first school from a
Utah is currently coached by
On June 17, 2010, the University of Utah officially accepted an invitation to join the Pac-12.[3][4]
Notable players to have played for the University of Utah are Pro Football Hall of Fame member
Women's gymnastics
The women's gymnastic team, the Red Rocks, has won the national gymnastics championship title 10
Skiing
The Utah men's skiing team won a national championship in 1981; the women, 1978. The teams won the combined national championship in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Women's soccer
Utah's women's soccer team has appeared in the
Softball
Utah's softball team has appeared in six Women's College World Series, in 1976, 1982 (AIAW), 1985, 1991, 1994, and 2023.[13]
Men's lacrosse
Utah's lacrosse team officially became a Division I lacrosse team in its 2019 inaugural season. After playing their first three seasons as an independent, the Utes joined the newly reinstated men's lacrosse league of the
Notable non varsity sports
Rugby
Utah rugby plays in Division 1 in the Pacific Athletic Conference,[15] and plays its postseason in the Varsity Cup Championship. Utah has consistently fielded one of the top
Utah's rugby program has also been successful in rugby sevens. Utah has twice played in the Collegiate Rugby Championship, a tournament broadcast live on NBC every year. Utah won the inaugural 2010 tournament by defeating Cal in sudden death extra time.[18] Utah placed third in the 2011 tournament, but narrowly failed to qualify for the 2012 tournament, losing 17–12 to Life University in the finals of the 2012 Las Vegas Invitational qualifying tournament.[19] Utah finished second to Cal at the 2012 PAC 7s tournament, narrowly missing out on qualification to the 2012 USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships.[20]
Pageantry
Nickname
The "Utes" nickname comes from the
Before 1972, Utah used the nickname "Redskins".[23] The university discontinued the practice because the term "Redskin" is an ethnic slur and is considered offensive by Native Americans.[24]
Mascot
Swoop, a
Fight song
The Utah
"Utah Man" controversy
Due to some portions of the Utah fight song's lyrics potentially being interpreted as
In addition to the repeated line “a Utah man am I”, the line “Our Co-eds are the fairest” has been criticized both for potentially objectifying women and seeming to prefer lighter skin tones. On April 22, 2014, members of the ASUU voted to push for changes to specific portions of the song's lyrics. These changes are summarized in the official ASUU Joint Resolution 11 as follows:[30]
- The Title of the Song—The title “Utah Man” can be viewed as referring only to male members of the campus community
- Repetition of “Utah Man” throughout the song—can be interpreted by some as [a] reminder of a status given to male students or men as representative of all students, even though many students at the University of Utah do not identify as men or being a man
- The phrase “Our Co-eds are the fairest” in the Song—this phrase can potentially be interpreted as objectifying women on campus while also supporting a hierarchy built on complexion and skin tone, privileging a light or “fair” appearance.
The proposal from ASUU was met with overwhelming opposition from students, faculty and alumni. In July 2014 university President David Pershing announced a compromise, highlighting optional alternate lyrics in the official, published fight song. "When printed officially by the university, this 2014 version of the fight song will be used, but historical renditions of the song will always be acceptable," Pershing said. "We encourage you to sing — loudly and with pride — whichever version resonates with you."
Championships
NCAA team championships
Utah has won 25 NCAA team national championships.[31]
- Men's (2)
- Basketball(1): 1944
- Skiing (1): 1981
- Women's (9)
- Gymnastics(9): 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995
- Co-ed (14)
- Skiing (13): 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
- see also:
Other national team championships
Below are eight national team titles that were not bestowed by the NCAA:
- Men's
- Women's AIAWchampionships:
- Cross-country (1): 1981 (Div. II)[32]
- Gymnastics (1): 1981
- Skiing (1): 1978
- see also:
See also
References
- ^ University of Utah Athletics Brand Guide (PDF). August 23, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ "Utah Athletics History". UtahUtes.com. June 10, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
- ^ a b "Utah and Colorado Officially Join the Pac-12 Conference, Pac-12 Football Championship Game Set to Debut This Year" (Press release). University of Utah. July 1, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ a b "Utah Utes excited by Pac-10 acceptance". ESPN. Associated Press. June 22, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ "Arizona, Arizona State, Utah join Big 12: Programs follow Colorado departing Pac-12 before 2024 season". CBSSports.com. August 5, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
- ^ "Utah Adds Men's Lacrosse as an NCAA Sport" (Press release). Utah Utes. June 15, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
- ^ Reichard, Kevin (November 17, 2023). "Coming up at the University of Utah: America First Ballpark". Ballpark Digest. August Publications.
- ^ "College Basketball – 100 Greatest Programs". D. A. Resler. Archived from the original on March 17, 2007. Retrieved March 16, 2007.
- ^ "Salt Lake Tribune". Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (November 22, 2019). "New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
- ^ "Elaine Elliott Bio – The Official Athletic Site of the University of Utah". cstv.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
- ^ "Schools with the Most NCAA Championships". www.ncaa.org. Archived from the original on April 19, 2008.
- ISBN 978-0-9893007-0-4.
- ^ "ASUN Conference Announces Formation of Men's Lacrosse League" (Press release). ASUN Conference. February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
- ^ Stanford, Dallen (August 21, 2011). "O'Sullivan Names Final RWC Squad". USA Rugby. Archived from the original on March 26, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ "National Rankings". www.hometeamsonline.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ "Sponsors". www.hometeamsonline.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Ted Hardy (June 7, 2010). "College Rugby: Utah Upsets Cal To Win Sevens Title". Bleacherreport.com. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
- ^ "Powerful Performance Leads Life to CRC Win". Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
- ^ "Cal Wins Pac 7s". www.rugbymag.com. November 4, 2012. Archived from the original on June 19, 2013.
- ^ "What is a Ute?". UtahUtes.com. June 10, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
- ^ Stephen Speckman. "U. Officially Files Appeal on Utes Nickname". Deseret News. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ Brad Rock (April 16, 2014). "Utes nickname won't stay forever". Deseret News. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
- ^ Suzan Shown Harjo. "Harjo: Dirty word games". Indian Country Today. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
- ^ "Utah Mascot". Trademarks.utah.edu. Archived from the original on June 9, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-7948-2797-7.
- ^ "The University of Utah Marching Band". Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
- ^ "Utah Local News – Salt Lake City News, Sports, Archive – The Salt Lake Tribune". Sltrib.com. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
- ^ "Utah Local News – Salt Lake City News, Sports, Archive – The Salt Lake Tribune". Sltrib.com. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
- ^ "ASUU Passes Joint Resolution 11". Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
- ^ "All Divisions/Collegiate Total Championships : Through July 2014" (PDF). Fs.ncaa.org. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
- ^ "Utah Athletics Tradition" (PDF). UtahUtes.com. 2004. p. 82. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 11, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
The women's cross country team won the Division II AIAW Championship in 1981 (it joined the other Ute teams in Division I the following year).