Utah Utes
Football
The University of Utah college football program began in 1892. Their current home stadium, Rice–Eccles Stadium, was built in 1998 on the site of their former home, Rice Stadium. The Utes have a record of 13–4 (.765) 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-four 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 was the first Mountain West Conference team, as well as the first team from a non-BCS conference, to play in and win a BCS bowl.
The Utes have a 104–44 (.703) 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 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 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. The Utes finished the season ranked #2 in the AP poll. In Whittingham's seven years the Utes are 65–25 overall and 39–18 in conference play and have won six bowl games (the Emerald Bowl, the Armed Forces Bowl, the Poinsettia Bowl (twice), the Sugar Bowl, and the Sun Bowl).
On June 17, 2010, the University of Utah officially accepted an invitation to join the Pac-12.
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, Andre Dyson, Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala, Luther Ellis, Jamal Anderson, Mike Anderson, Bob Trumpy, Roy Jefferson, Paul Soliai, Barry Sims, Sione Pouha, Koa Misi, Chris Kemoeatu, Maake Kemoeatu, Jonathan Fanene, Steve Smith and Jordan Gross of the Carolina Panthers, Alex Smith of the San Francisco 49ers, Sean Smith of the Miami Dolphins,Robert Johnson of the Tennessee Titans and Eric Weddle of the San Diego Chargers.
Men's basketball
The Runnin' Utes basketball program has the 9th most wins among college basketball programs.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. The Utes are coached by former NBA head coach (Milwaukee Bucks) Larry Krystowiak, replacing Jim Boylen .
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. 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.
