Alumni Athletes of Note
Alex Smith No. 1 NFL Draft pick in 2005)
Andrew Bogut (No. 1 NBA Draft pick in 2005)
Steve Smith (NFL)
Andre Miller (NBA)
Keith Van Horn (NBA)
Mike Anderson (NFL)
Jordan Gross (NFL)
Andre Dyson (NFL)
Michael Doleac (NBA)
Barry Sims (NFL)
Ma'ake Kemoeatu (NFL)
Jamal Anderson (NFL)
Luther Elliss (NFL)
George Seifert (NFL)
Arnie Ferrin (NBA)
Lee Grosscup (NFL)
Larry Wilson (NFL)
Missy Marlowe (Olympics)

Other Alumni of Note
Rocky Anderson, mayor of Salt Lake City
Terrel Bell, former U.S. Secretary of Education
Nolan Bushnell, co-founder of Atari and inventor of Pong
Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios shared an Oscar in 2001 for the development of the software used in Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Jurassic Park, Titanic and Gladiator
Jim Clark, founder of Netscape
Stephen Covey, author of the bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Keene Curtis, Tony Award winning actor
Spence Eccles, chairman of Wells Fargo & Company and former chairman and CEO of First Security Corp.
Jake Garn, former U.S. Senator
E. Gordon Gee, chancellor of Vanderbilt and former president at Colorado, Ohio State and Brown
Bill Gore, inventor of Gore-Tex
Gordon B. Hinkley, president of the LDS Church
Robert Jarvik, inventor of the Jarvik-7 artificial heart
Alan C. Kay, credited with the concept of the laptop computer
Frederick Kempe: Assistant managing editor and columnist, Wall Street Journal, New York.
Willard Marriott, founder of Marriott International Inc.
Charles K. Monfort, chairman and CEO of the Colorado Rockies, president of Monfort International Sales Corporation
John Naisbett, author of the bestseller Megatrends
David Neeleman, founder and CEO of JetBlue Airways
Raymond Noorda, founder of Novell Inc.
Jody Olsen: Deputy director of the Peace Corps.
Simon Ramo, chief scientist in the development of America's intercontinental ballistic missiles
Wallace Stegner, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist
Terry Tempest Williams, author and environmentalist
John Warnock: co-founder of Adobe Systems Inc.
Evelyn Wood, speed reading innovator.

Band
The University of Utah Marching Band began in the 1940s as a military band. In 1948, University President A. Ray Olpin recruited Ron Gregory from Ohio State University to form a marching band fashioned after the great collegiate bands of the Midwest. But in the turbulent '60s, support for the band dwindled, and in 1969, the Associated Students for the University of Utah (ASUU) discontinued its funding. The band was revived in 1976 after a fund-raising effort. Since then, the "Pride of Utah" Marching Utes have performed at all home football games, as well as numerous NFL and college bowl games.

Beehive Boot
The Beehive Boot, which signifies instate football supremacy, was conceived in 1971. The authentic pioneer boot is awarded annually to the Utah school with the best record against its instate foes. The schools who compete for the boot are Utah, Brigham Young and Utah State. In its 37-year history, the Beehive Boot has been awarded to Utah 10 times (1978, 1988, 1993, `94, '95, '99, 2002, '03, '04 and '05), BYU 21 times and Utah State six times.

Block U
The Block U (elevation 5,300 feet above sea level) was built in the foothills bordering the Utah campus 103 years ago. Lights on the 100-foot-tall landmark are illuminated primarily for athletic events and notify people in the Salt Lake valley that the Utes are playing at home (the lights flash after a Utah victory). The Block U, originally built of lime in 1905, was replaced by cement in 1907. In 1969, the design was modified and lights were installed. A fund-raising campaign in 2006 raised $400,000 to renovate the aging U. Slabs of concrete and steel rebar now reinforce the 5,000 feet of surface area. Another major improvement was the installation of light emitting diode (LED) red and white lights, which are controlled through a wireless system.

Conference Affiliation

Fight Song
After every game, the Utah football players--along with the band and cheerleaders--honor their fellow students by serenading the student section with the school fight song, Utah Man (lyrics below). Although the origins of Utah Man are unclear, the general consensus is that the lyrics were written in 1904 by the football team and its coach, Harvey Holmes. While their words were original, the music was not. The tune is Solomon Levi, an old burlesque song, which supports the theory that Utah Man was originally a drinking song. In fact, the original third line of the first verse read: We drink our stein of lager and we smoke our big cigar. It was later changed to the current version, Our coeds are the fairest and each one's a shining star. While Utah Man won the hearts of the students, the administration frowned on it and, in 1942, acknowledged Hail, Utah as the school's official song. Nonetheless, Utah Man will always be the song of the students and alumni.

Fight Song Lyrics
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!

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!
Ki-yi!

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.

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
Who am I, sir,
A Utah Man am I!
A Utah Man, sir,
Will be 'til I die.
Ki-yi!

Homecoming
Utah's all-time record in Homecoming games is 52-29-4. The first Homecoming game was held at the U. on November 12, 1921 against Colorado and ended in a scoreless tie.

Internet
The Utah athletics department made its first official appearance on the Internet in August of 1996 with a site that was managed and supported in-house. In 1997, the U. contracted the services of what is now College Sports Television Online to manage its athletics website. Listed under the URL www.UtahUtes.com, the Utah website contains current information on all 18 of its varsity athletics teams.

Leadership Committee
The Utah Football Leadership Committee is elected annually and was initiated in spring of 2003. The committee is comprised of sophomores, juniors and seniors who are elected by their teammates. The members serve as team spokesmen, contribute to forming team policy and participate in the decision-making process.

Mascot
The University of Utah introduced a mascot in 1996, with permission from the Ute Tribal Council (see Nickname). "Swoop" represents a red-tailed hawk, a bird indigenous to the state of Utah.

Muss
The Student Fan Club at the University of Utah, a longtime basketball tradition, began participating at football games in 2002 and members renamed themselves The Muss. Muss members have reserved seats at the front of the student section. Originally derived from the school fight song (... No other gang of college men dare meet us in a muss), the Utah student fan club has since used Muss as an acronym for "Mighty Utah Student Section." The Muss pride themselves in standing for the entire football game in support of the team. The Utah football team began sporting a Muss sticker on the center-back of its helmets in 2004.

Nickname
In the earliest days of University of Utah recorded history, the students and alumni referred to their athletic teams as both the Utes and the Redskins. The dual nickname was officially dropped in favor of Utes in 1972, when college campuses became sensitive to the concerns of tribal members. The University of Utah uses Utes as its nickname with permission from the Ute Tribal Council.

Nobel Prize
In October of 2007, Mario R. Capecchi, Ph.D., distinguished professor of human genetics and biology at the University of Utah, became the school's first Nobel Prize winner. He received the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing a gene-targeting technique.

What is a Ute?
A Ute belongs to an Indian tribe whose members are identified as the first people of Utah. While there is disagreement in history and reference books regarding the meaning of the word Ute, two of the more common definitions are "top of the mountains" and "people of the mountains." Other references have Ute defined as "land of the sun." The Utes refer to themselves as "Noochew," meaning "the People". There are four Ute tribes: The Northern and White Mesa Tribes are based in Utah, while the Southern and Ute Mountain Tribes are in Colorado. The Northern Utes are affiliated the most closely with the University of Utah and have a tribal membership of 3,157, of which more than half live on The Uintah and Ouray reservation. The Utes operate their own tribal government, oversee approximately 1.3 million acres of trust land and operate several businesses.

Television
One of the earliest nationally televised games was between Utah and BYU on Thanksgiving Day, 1953. It was the first of 12 games selected by the NCAA television committee for national broadcast in the 1953 season. An estimated 60 million people tuned into NBC and saw Utah edge BYU 33-32 in old Ute Stadium. Mel Allen handled the play-by-play and Lindsey Nelson did the color for the broadcast. Since then, Utah football teams have made regular local, regional and national television appearances. Utah was part of the Mountain West television package with ESPN from 1999-2005. In 2006, the MWC began a long-term partnership with CBS College Sports (then known as CSTV). Since 2007, Utah's local television partner has been KTVX-ABC 4.

University of Utah Traditions

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