Utah Utes
The Utah Utes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the Runnin' Utes; the women's gymnastics team is known as the Red Rocks
| Utah Utes | |
|---|---|
| University | University of Utah |
| Conference | Pac-12 (primary) ASUN Conference (men's lacrosse) Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (women's indoor track & field) Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (skiing) |
| NCAA | Division I (FBS) |
| Athletic director | Mark Harlan |
| Location | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Varsity teams | 19 (7 men's, 11 women's, and 1 co-ed) |
| Football stadium | Rice-Eccles Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Jon M. Huntsman Center |
| Baseball stadium | Smith's Ballpark |
| Mascot | Swoop |
| Nickname | Utes |
| Fight song | Utah Man |
| Colors | Red and white |
| Website | www |
Currently Utah competes in the Pac-12 Conference, after it was announced on June 17, 2010, that the Utes would join the conference in all sports, beginning in the 2011–2012 academic year. They are the third Pac-12 member to have previously spent time in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), joining old conference rivals Arizona and Arizona State. They are also the first school to leave the Mountain West Conference (MW) since it was formed in 1999. On August 4, 2023, Utah accepted an invite to join the Big 12 Conference effective July 1, 2024
Utah offers a total of 19 varsity sports—seven for men, 11 for women, and one coeducational. Baseball, football, golf, and lacrosse are sponsored for men only. Beach volleyball, cross country, gymnastics, indoor track & field, indoor volleyball, outdoor track & field, soccer, and softball are sponsored for women only. Basketball, swimming & diving, and tennis are sponsored for both sexes. The coeducational sport is skiing; while schools have separate men's and women's squads, the NCAA awards a single national team championship. Utah's newest varsity sport is men's lacrosse, which played its first season in 2019 (2018–19 school year).