Dear Utah Athletics Family,
August is always an exciting time on campus, and this year there is an even greater sense of excitement and anticipation as Utah Athletics enters the Big 12 Conference! Our transition into the Big 12 comes amid a time of historic change in intercollegiate athletics, but what makes Utah Athletics unique, and college sports so great, is not changing. We have tremendous student-athletes, elite coaches and staff, and incredible support from the university and from our loyal supporters.
We remain unwavering in our primary commitment to provide our student-athletes a culture of excellence that best positions them for success in the classroom, competition and in the community. As we begin our first year in the Big 12 Conference, we are excited about the opportunity for our student-athletes to compete at the highest level nationally, experience new places and competitors, and spread the Utah story to a broader audience.
The Big 12 Conference has a bold and ambitious vision for the future under Commissioner Brett Yormark’s leadership, and we are enthusiastic about the opportunity to not only win championships in all of our sports, but also to do our part to elevate the conference. We enter the Big 12 in a strong position with our sport programs already nationally competitive. We hope you will join us on the road as we visit new campuses and cities, develop new traditions, and of course, reconnect as conference partners with our friends to the south.
For our fans not at a game, many of our sports will be prominently featured on familiar linear television partners, the ESPN family of networks and FOX Sports. In addition, we are excited for our fans to watch our teams on the ESPN+ platform. Not only does this streaming service provide consistency, but also offers Utah Athletics greater exposure and offers our fans versatility to view our games across mobile devices, online and in living rooms. You can find more information on how to watch the Utes on ESPN+ here.
Through the production of our own digital broadcasts for ESPN+, we have a tremendous opportunity to tell our story through our broadcasts. To drive this new initiative, we created Utes Production, and over the past year our staff has been hard at work to provide our fans with the ultimate digital broadcast and streaming experience with a Utah touch. We have added staff members to assist in our efforts and long-time Voice of the Utes Bill Riley serves as our Director of Broadcasting.
As you can imagine, it takes a team effort to execute a conference transition on top of our typical day-to-day work on behalf of our student-athletes and coaches, and I want to express my gratitude for the unwavering commitment, dedication and hard work of our outstanding athletics department staff for their work. We had an exceptional final year in the Pac-12 Conference and we have had a seamless transition so far into the Big 12.
The 2023-2024 year was filled with amazing accomplishments by our student-athletes, including 58 earning All-America awards, two winning individual national championships, two of our teams finishing in the top three at the NCAA Championships, and for the third year in a row, a school-record eight sport programs qualifying for the NCAA Championships or a bowl game.
This summer, we have been watching and celebrating the participation of six current or former Utes in the Paris Olympic Games, including athletes in women’s 3x3 basketball, track and field and diving. Our Utes were featured on a worldwide stage, and have made us so proud. I especially want to recognize the performance of our rising sophomore diver Emilia Nilsson Garip, who finished ninth in the Olympics 3-meter springboard diving competition for her home country of Sweden. Congratulations to Emilia, and we can’t wait to see her back on campus soon.
And now we turn our attention to what comes next in the 2024-25 school year. Four of our sports programs are already in preseason camp, and you can feel the energy in and around our facilities. We cannot wait to see you at all of our fall sporting events, beginning with our first regular season competition as a Big 12 Conference member, Thursday, Aug. 15, when our women’s soccer team hosts Gonzaga at 7 p.m. at Ute Field.
This Saturday, Aug. 17, we’re excited to welcome fans back to Rice-Eccles Stadium for Fan Fest. Please join us at this free event and interact with student-athletes and coaches from all of our sport programs from 7-9 p.m.
In addition to supporting our sports programs this year, we are also embracing and planning for monumental changes on the horizon the intercollegiate athletics model. As we anticipate a decision from the federal courts on the proposed settlement in House vs. the NCAA—in which a class of former student-athletes would receive back payments for their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and institutions could share revenue with student-athletes among other aspects—we are studying the implications for our athletics department. It is a new day in college sports, and while we do not yet have all of the answers, we are attacking this new challenge with a commitment to serving our student-athletes and providing a world-class experience in Salt Lake City, now and into the future.
Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) opportunities for our student-athletes will continue to play a role moving forward, and we are so grateful for the support from corporations and individuals which powers the great work of the Crimson Collective. Our student-athletes are able to take advantage of incredible opportunities through the collective and have a meaningful impact in the community. We encourage you to continue to support the Crimson Collective and be sure to download the official app of Utah Athletics, the Utah 360 app, to further support our student-athletes and access great content and information on your favorite Utes.
On the facilities front, we are looking forward to our August 28 construction celebration for our new on-campus baseball stadium, America First Ballpark, being built at the site of our existing practice field on Guardsman Way. I’m thrilled for the positive lift this will provide for our baseball program, and grateful for the support that has helped make this a reality.
As always, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude by the commitment and passion of our fans and supporters, and the talent, determination and thirst for excellence of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, and very humbled to begin my seventh year serving as your Director of Athletics.
A new day, a new year and a new era are upon us. Let’s keep climbing together!
Go Utes!
