The Utah Utes are the athletics teams of the University of Utah. They are named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the "Runnin' Utes"; the women's basketball team, formerly known as the "Lady Utes," now prefers to be referred to as the "Utes"; and the women's gymnastics team is known as the "Red Rocks."
The University of Utah college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Rice-Eccles Stadium since 1927. The Utes have a record of 11–3 (.786) in bowl games, which is the highest percentage in the nation for teams who have been to more than ten bowls. They have won twenty-six conference championships, including six in a row from 1928 to 1933 when they were part of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
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 has won their last eight bowl games—making their bowl winning streak the longest in the nation—and are the only Mountain West Conference (MWC) team to play in a BCS bowl.
The Utes have a 76–33 (.697) record since the beginning of the 2000 season. Along the way, Utah engineered an eighteen game winning streak. They also produced an undefeated season in 2004, when the Utes were 12–0 and became the first school from a non-Bowl Championship Series conference to play in a BCS bowl game earning them the title of BCS Busters. The Utes played the Big East Conference champion University of Pittsburgh Panthers in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl, winning 35–7. The Utes finished the season ranked #4 in the AP poll. Later that year Alex Smith, who was Utah's quarterback for the 2003 and 2004 seasons, was drafted #1 by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2005 NFL Draft. He became the first player in the state of Utah to ever be drafted first. This culminated in the University of Utah becoming the first school in history to produce two #1 professional draft picks in the same year when Andrew Bogut became the #1 pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. Utah is currently coached by Kyle Whittingham, who took over for Urban Meyer after Meyer left Utah for Florida after two seasons with the Utes. During the 2008 season, Utah again went undefeated with a 13–0 record, which included a 31–17 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2009 Sugar Bowl. In Whittingham's four years the Utes are 37–14 overall and 22–10 in conference play and have won four bowl games (the Emerald Bowl, the Armed Forces Bowl, the Poinsettia Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl). Also, the Utes hold the longest bowl game winning streak at eight straight wins, two of which were BCS wins.
Notable players to have played for the University of Utah are NFL Hall of Fame member Larry Wilson, Super Bowl Head Coach Winner George Seifert, Manny Fernandez, Marv Bateman, Norm Chow, Scott Mitchell, Kevin Dyson, Luther Ellis, Jamal Anderson, Mike Anderson, Bob Trumpy, Roy Jefferson, Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers, Jordan Gross also of the Carolina Panthers, Alex Smith and Eric Weddle.
Conference championships
Bowl games
| BOWL HISTORY |
FINAL RANKING |
| Date |
Bowl |
Score |
Coach |
AP |
Coaches |
| January 2, 1939 |
Sun Bowl |
Utah |
26 |
New Mexico |
0 |
Ike Armstrong |
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| January 1, 1947 |
Pineapple Bowl* |
Hawaii |
19 |
Utah |
16 |
Ike Armstrong |
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| December 19, 1964 |
Liberty Bowl |
Utah |
32 |
West Virginia |
6 |
Ray Nagel |
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#14 |
| December 29, 1992 |
Copper Bowl |
Washington State |
31 |
Utah |
28 |
Ron McBride |
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| December 30, 1993 |
Freedom Bowl |
Southern California |
28 |
Utah |
21 |
Ron McBride |
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| December 27, 1994 |
Freedom Bowl |
Utah |
16 |
Arizona |
13 |
Ron McBride |
#10 |
#8 |
| December 27, 1996 |
Copper Bowl |
Wisconsin |
38 |
Utah |
10 |
Ron McBride |
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| December 18, 1999 |
Las Vegas Bowl |
Utah |
17 |
Fresno State |
16 |
Ron McBride |
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| December 25, 2001 |
Las Vegas Bowl |
Utah |
10 |
Southern California |
6 |
Ron McBride |
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| December 31, 2003 |
Liberty Bowl |
Utah |
17 |
Southern Miss |
0 |
Urban Meyer |
#21 |
#21 |
| January 1, 2005 |
Fiesta Bowl |
Utah |
35 |
Pittsburgh |
7 |
Urban Meyer |
#4 |
#5 |
| December 29, 2005 |
Emerald Bowl |
Utah |
38 |
Georgia Tech |
10 |
Kyle Whittingham |
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| December 23, 2006 |
Armed Forces Bowl |
Utah |
25 |
Tulsa |
13 |
Kyle Whittingham |
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| December 20, 2007 |
Poinsettia Bowl |
Utah |
35 |
Navy |
32 |
Kyle Whittingham |
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| January 2, 2009 |
Sugar Bowl |
Utah |
31 |
Alabama |
17 |
Kyle Whittingham |
#2 |
#4 |
| * Denotes bowl was not sanctioned by the NCAA and counts as a regular season game in official statistics |
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Utah Utes football |
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| All-time record |
607–418–31 (.589) (as of 02/10/2009)
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| Teams |
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| Stadium |
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| Rivalries |
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| Key Personnel |
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| Undefeated seasons |
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| Conference Championships |
1912 • 1919 • 1922 • 1926 • 1928 • 1929 • 1930 • 1931 • 1932 • 1933 • 1938 • 1940 • 1941 • 1942 • 1947 • 1948 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1957 • 1964 • 1995 • 1999 • 2003 • 2004 • 2008 |
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Men's basketball
The Runnin' Utes basketball program has the 9th most wins among college basketball programs.[1] The Utes have made 28 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. The Utes are coached by first-year coach and former Michigan State assistant Jim Boylen, replacing Ray Giacoletti.
Individual success has been a big part of Utah athletics, as many successful players and coaches have been a part of the rich Utah tradition. In 2005 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 Andre Miller, Keith Van Horn, Michael Doleac (who recently won the NBA championship with the Miami Heat), 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 Final Fours, winning the 1944 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. Utah also added an NIT title in 1947. Jerry Chambers was named MVP of the 1966 Final Four in which Utah lost to eventual champion Texas Western (UTEP) and the legendary coach Don Haskins. They also played for the 1998 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, losing to the Kentucky Wildcats.
Conference Championships
Post-season tournaments
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Utah Utes head basketball coaches |
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Women's basketball
The team is coached by Elaine Elliott, who is the winningest coach in Utah basketball history. During her 26-year tenure, the Utes have gone to the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship tournament 15 times, and Elliott has a 536-212 record (.717).[2] The program's most successful season came in the 2005-2006 campaign. The Utes, who finished in 2nd place in the Mountain West Conference, won the conference tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time in school history. After getting by Middle Tennessee in the first round of the 2006 Women's NCAA Tournament, Utah surprised the 4th seeded Arizona State Sun Devils to advance to the Sweet 16 for only the second time in school history. There the Utes faced 8th seeded Boston College and gutted out a 3 point win, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. Making the regional finals, Utah became the first women's team in Mountain West Conference history to ever do so. In doing so, the Utes would go on to play 2nd seeded, and eventual national champion, Maryland. The game went into OT, but Maryland prevailed and Utah's amazing run came to an end.
In the 2006 WNBA Draft Utah guard Shona Thorburn was selected by Minnesota Lynx with the 7th pick and Kim Smith, a forward for the Utes, was selected 13th overall by the Sacramento Monarchs.
Women's Gymnastics
Main article:
Utah Red RocksThe women's gymnastic team, the Red Rocks, has won the National Gymnastics Championship title 9[3] times, beginning with an AIAW national championship title in 1981, more than any other university except the University of Georgia, whom they have finished second to from 2006-2008. In the years when Utah does not place first, they are almost always #2 or #3. The ten-time national champion Utah gymnastics team has qualified for a record 31st-consecutive national championship. Utah is the only program to qualify for all 25 NCAA Championships. The Utes won the 2006 women's gymnastics attendance title, averaging 12,747 spectators to their six regular season home meets. It marked the second-highest attendance average in Utah and NCAA gymnastics history. Utah has won twenty-two of the last twenty-five gymnastics attendance titles. This is also one of the highest attendance averages for any women's college sport in the nation.
Post-season History
Skiing
| UTAH SKIING |
| Men's National Championships (1) |
1981 |
| Women's National Championships (1) |
1978 |
| Combined National Championships (9) |
1983 • 1984 • 1986
1987 • 1988 • 1993
1996 • 1997 • 2003 |
Pageantry
Nickname
The "Utes" nickname comes from the Ute tribe, from which the state of Utah derives its name.[4] The Ute tribe gave the University of Utah explicit permission to use the name for all its athletic teams.[5]
Mascot
Swoop is the mascot of Utah Utes sports teams. Swoop represents a red-tailed hawk. The university introduced Swoop with the consent of the tribal council of the Ute tribe in 1996.[6]
Fight Song
The Utah fight song is "Utah Man". It's believed that the lyrics were written in 1904 by the football team and its coach, Harvey Holmes.[7] It is sung to the tune of Solomon Levi, an old burlesque song.[7] The lyrics are as follows:[8]
- 1. I am a Utah Man, sir, and I live across the green,
- Our gang it is the jolliest that you have ever seen.
- Our coeds are the fairest and each one's a shining star,
- Our yell, you'll hear it ringing through the mountains near and far! (Chorus)
- 2. And when we prom the avenue, all lined up in a row,
- And arm in arm and step in time as down the street we go.
- No matter if a freshman green, or in a senior's gown,
- The people all admit we are the warmest gang in town. (Chorus)
- 3. We may not live forever on this jolly good old sphere,
- But while we do we'll live a life of merriment and cheer,
- And when our college days are o'er and night is drawing nigh,
- With parting breath we'll sing that song:
- "A Utah Man Am I". (Chorus)
- "Go Utes!"
- Chorus
- Who am I, sir,
- A Utah Man am I!
- A Utah Man, sir,
- Will be 'til I die.
- Ki-yi!
- We're up to snuff, we never bluff, we're game for any fuss.
- No other gang of college men dare meet us in a muss.
- So fill your lungs and sing it out and shout it to the sky,
- We'll fight for dear old crimson for a Utah Man am I!
See also
External links
References
- ^ "College Basketball - 100 Greatest Programs". D. A. Resler. http://daresler.net/info/top/basketball-programs. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
- ^ http://utahutes.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/elliott_elaine00.html
- ^ Schools with the Most NCAA Championships
- ^ "What is a Ute?". utahutes.cstv.com. http://utahutes.cstv.com/trads/ute-trads-what.html. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
- ^ Stephen Speckman. "U. Officially Files Appeal on Utes Nickname". Deseret News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,600160110,00.html. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
- ^ "Utah Mascot". www.trademarks.utah.edu. http://www.trademarks.utah.edu/traditions/mascot.html. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
- ^ a b "Utah Official Athletic Site - Traditions". University of Utah. http://utahutes.cstv.com/trads/ute-trads-general.html. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
- ^ "MUSS - Student Cheer Section for the U of U Utes". University of Utah. http://www.alumni.utah.edu/muss/membership/. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
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