UTAH UTES

(Redirected from Utah Utes football)

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", while the women's basketball team is known as the "Lady Utes".

Contents
Varsity sports
Football
Conference championships
Bowl games
Men's basketball
Conference Championships
Post-season tournaments
Women's basketball
See also
External links
References

Varsity sports


Football

The University of Utah college football program began playing in 1892, the Utes play at Rice-Eccles Stadium, with their first game being played there in 1927. The Utes have a record of 9-3 in bowl games and have won 23 conference championships, including 6 in a row from 1928 to 1933 when they were part of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Utah football experienced a resurgence in the early 1990s under head coach Ron McBride. After years of subpar play, McBride led the Utes to their first bowl game in 28 years when they played Washington State in the 1992 Copper Bowl. The Utes lost to the Cougars 31-28. Utah reached its peak under McBride when it finished the 1994 season ranked 10th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and recorded a dramatic 16-13 victory over Arizona in the Freedom Bowl.
Since that time, bowl games have become more routine for the Utes. The team now has a six year bowl game win streak and are the only Mountain West Conference (MWC) team to play in a BCS bowl.
In recent years, the Utes have been fairly consistent, going 54-29 (.650) since the beginning of the 2000 season. Along the way, Utah engineered an 18-game winning streak and went to bowl games all three seasons, winning all three. They also produced the best season in school history in 2004, when the Utes went 12-0 and became the first school from a non-Bowl Championship Series conference to play in a BCS bowl game. The Utes played the 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 quartback 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. Since then the Utes are 15-11 overall and 9-7 in conference play and have won two bowl games (the Emerald Nuts Bowl and the Armed Forces Bowl).
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, Scott Mitchell, Kevin Dyson, Luther Ellis, Jamal Anderson, Mike Anderson, Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers, Jordan Gross also of the Carolina Panthers, Alex Smith and Eric Weddle.
Conference championships

'Conference' 'Year' 'Coach'
Mountain West Conference 2004 Urban Meyer
2003 Urban Meyer
1999'
★ '
Ron McBride
Western Athletic Conference 1995'
★ '
Ron McBride
1964'
★ '
Ray Nagel
Skyline Conference 1957 Jack Curtice
1953 Jack Curtice
1952 Jack Curtice
1951 Jack Curtice
1948 Ike Armstrong
Big Seven Conference 1947 Ike Armstrong
1942'
★ '
Ike Armstrong
1941 Ike Armstrong
1940 Ike Armstrong
1938 Ike Armstrong
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference 1933
Ike Armstrong
1932 Ike Armstrong
1931 Ike Armstrong
1930 Ike Armstrong
1929 Ike Armstrong
1928 Ike Armstrong
1926 Ike Armstrong
1922 Thomas Fitzpatrick
1919
Thomas Fitzpatrick
1912 Fred Bennion
'
★ ' Denotes Shared Championship

Bowl games

'BOWL HISTORY' 'FINAL RANKING'
'Date' 'Bowl' 'Score' 'Coach' 'AP' 'Coaches'
December 23, 2006 Armed Forces Bowl 'Utah' 25 Tulsa 13 Kyle Whittingham
December 29, 2005 Emerald Bowl 'Utah' 38 Georgia Tech 10 Kyle Whittingham
January 1, 2005 Fiesta Bowl 'Utah' 35 Pittsburgh 7 Urban Meyer #4 #5
December 31, 2003 Liberty Bowl 'Utah' 17 So. Miss. 0 Urban Meyer #21 #21
December 25, 2001 Las Vegas Bowl 'Utah' 10 USC 6 Ron McBride
December 18, 1999 Las Vegas Bowl 'Utah' 17 Fresno State 16 Ron McBride
December 27, 1996 Copper Bowl Wisconsin 38 'Utah' 10 Ron McBride
December 27, 1994 Freedom Bowl 'Utah' 16 Arizona 13 Ron McBride #10 #8
December 30, 1993 Freedom Bowl USC 28 'Utah' 21 Ron McBride
December 29, 1992 Copper Bowl Washington State 31 'Utah' 28 Ron McBride
December 19, 1964 Liberty Bowl 'Utah' 32 West Virginia 6 Ray Nagel #14
January 2, 1939 Sun Bowl 'Utah' 26 New Mexico 0 Ike Armstrong

Men's basketball

Main articles: Utah Utes men's basketball

The Runnin' Utes basketball team has always been the pride and joy of University of Utah athletics. The 9th winningest college basketball program of all time.[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, who replaced Ray Giacoletti after a two-year run regarded as one of the worst stretches in the program's history. But even Giacoletti tasted success, as in his first season at Utah, he, along with future No. 1 NBA Draft pick Andrew Bogut led the team to the NCAA Sweet 16 with an upset win over the Oklahoma Sooners.
Individual success has also been a big part of Utah athletics, as many successful players and coaches have been apart 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


'CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS'
'Conference' 'Year' 'Coach'
Mountain West Conference 2004-2005 Ray Giacoletti
2002-2003 Rick Majerus
2000-2001 Rick Majerus
1999-2000 Rick Majerus
Western Athletic Conference 1998-1999 Rick Majerus
1997-1998 Rick Majerus
1996-1997 Rick Majerus
1995-1996 Rick Majerus
1994-1995 Rick Majerus
1992-1993 Rick Majerus
1990-1991 Rick Majerus
1985-1986 Lynn Archibald
1982-1983 Jerry Pimm
1980-1981 Jerry Pimm
1976-1977 Jerry Pimm
1965-1966 Jack Gardner
Skyline Conference 1961-1962 Jack Gardner
1960-1961 Jack Gardner
1959-1960 Jack Gardner
1958-1959 Jack Gardner
1955-1956 Jack Gardner
1954-1955 Jack Gardner
1944-1945 Vadal Peterson
1937-1938 Vadal Peterson
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference 1936-1937 Vadal Peterson
1932-1933 Vadal Peterson
1931-1932 Vadal Peterson
1930-1931 Vadal Peterson


'RETIRED JERSEYS'
'No.' 'Player' 'Years Played'
'4' Andrew Bogut 2003-2005
'12' Billy McGill 1959-1962
'22' Arnie Ferrin 1943-1948
'23' Danny Vranes 1977-1981
'24' Andre Miller 1995-1999
'33' Vern Gardner 1945-1949
'44' Keith Van Horn 1993-1997


Post-season tournaments


'NCAA TOURNAMENT' 'FINAL RANKING'
'Year' 'Seed' 'Finish' 'Coach' 'AP' 'ESPN/UPI'
2005 6 Sweet Sixteen Ray Giacoletti #18 #14
2004 11 First Round Kerry Rupp
2003 9 Second Round Rick Majerus
2002 12 First Round Rick Majerus
2000 8 Second Round Rick Majerus
1999 2 Second Round Rick Majerus #6 #10
1998 3 'Runner-up' Rick Majerus #7 #2
1997 2 Elite Eight Rick Majerus #2 #6
1996 4 Sweet Sixteen Rick Majerus #12 #12
1995 4 Second Round Rick Majerus #19 #22
1993 8 Second Round Rick Majerus #19 #16
1991 4 Sweet Sixteen Rick Majerus #10 #10
1986 14 First Round Lynn Archibald
1983 10 Sweet Sixteen Jerry Pimm
1981 3 Sweet Sixteen Jerry Pimm #14 #10
1979 8 First Round Jerry Pimm
1978 -- Sweet Sixteen Jerry Pimm #14 #18


'NCAA TOURNAMENT' 'FINAL RANKING'
'Year' 'Seed' 'Finish' 'Coach' 'AP' 'ESPN/UPI'
1977 -- Sweet Sixteen Jerry Pimm #14 #10
1966 -- '3rd Place' Jack Gardner #12
1961 -- '3rd Place' Jack Gardner #11 #13
1960 -- Second Round Jack Gardner #6 #5
1959 -- Second Round Jack Gardner #18 #14
1956 -- Elite Eight Jack Gardner #18 #13
1955 -- Second Round Jack Gardner #7 #4
1945 -- First Round Vadal Peterson
1944 -- 'Champions' Vadal Peterson

'OTHER NOTABLE FINISHES' 'FINAL RANKING'
'Year' 'Tournament' 'Finish' 'Coach' 'AP' 'ESPN/UPI'
1992 NIT Third Place Rick Majerus
1974 NIT Second Place Bill Foster #15
1968 Jack Gardner #18
1962 Jack Gardner #7 #10
1947 NIT 'Champions' Vadal Peterson
1916 AAU 'Champions' Nelson H. Nordgren


Women's basketball

The program's most successful season came in the 2005-2006 campaign. The Lady 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, the Lady Utes surprised the 4th seeded Arizona State Sun Devils to advance to the Sweet 16 for only the second time in school history. There the Lady 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, the Lady Utes became the first team in Mountain West Conference history to ever do so. In doing so, the Lady Utes would go on to play 2nd seeded, and eventual national champion, Maryland. The game went into OT, but Maryland prevailed and the Utes amazing run came to an end.
In the 2006 WNBA Draft Lady Ute guard Shona Thorburn was selected by Minnesota Lynx with the 7th pick and Kim Smith, a forward for the Lady Utes, was selected 13th overall by the Sacramento Monarchs.

See also



2007 Utah Utes Football Team

The Utah-BYU Rivalry

University of Utah

External links



Utah Utes Athletics

Block U Utes News & Analysis

References


1. College Basketball - 100 Greatest Programs


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