It’s clear that the mighty Utes on the gridiron are the signature team here at the U. Not only are students and alumni of the U fans of the team, but the whole city of Salt Lake City embraces it and takes part in tailgates on Saturdays. The city is decorated with the Utes’ logo and banners supporting the players and coaches that represent Utah in the Pac-12. The conference consists of Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, UCLA, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, USC, Stanford, Washington and Washington State.
The Utes’ biggest rival within the Pac-12 is Colorado, and, of course, you can’t forget about the team down south in the Cougars, though BYU is not part of the Pac-12. The Utes play their home games in Rice-Eccles Stadium, which opened on September 12, 1998. Prior to that year, it was named the Rice Stadium, but due to the city hosting the Olympics, it went through serious renovations, for which Spencer Eccles of the influential Eccles family made a $10 million donation.
The stadium was expanded to serve as the main stadium during the Olympics and to become a landmark of the city. Not only does it serve as the venue for Utah home games, but it also hosts local prom nights, galas, dinners and other events. The record attendances, however, have come from the football games.
The stadium has a record attendance of 47,619, which happened during the 2014 Utah vs. USC game. Students at the U are given free tickets to the standing area of every home game. For seats in a better section, however, the Mighty Utah Students Section (MUSS) was created. The membership fee is $50 and can be gained online through the Ulink website with a CIS registration. It has a growing membership of around 6,000 students.
The Utes follow many traditions during home games, and if you don’t know them, you may feel lost. The MUSS, for example, tends to stand throughout the whole game, and is identified by MUSS T-shirts. Other traditions include:
Third-Down Jump — This is where the entire student section stands on its feet to jump up and down and scream as loud as they can when the opposing team is on third down. This creates a loud distraction inside the confines of Rice-Eccles Stadium, giving the Utes an advantage over their counterparts, as it has led to a number of false starts and mistakes on the other sideline in the past.
False Start Tally — Speaking of false starts, why not keep track of them all? Because the MUSS can be loud, along with the rest of the fans in attendance, the Third-Down Jump can cause A LOT of false starts, making it difficult to keep track of them all. But have no fear, because every time the opposing team jumps, the MUSS will hang a ‘5’ in front of the section to represent the amount of yards the opponent just lost with the penalty.
The U of U Chop — This is when the band plays a certain song recognizable to the students in the MUSS. When the song plays, the members of the section form a U with their hands and chop with the beat of the music.
First Down Chant — This happens at pretty much every college football stadium, but it is no different here in Salt Lake City. Whenever the Utes get that coveted first down to move the chains, make sure you throw your hand up and point in the direction of the first down, shouting it in unison with the rest of the students.
Utah Fight Song — Last, but certainly not least, you MUST know the fight song. The beloved “Utah Man/Fan” song is played a countless number of times throughout a home game, and if you do not know the lyrics, you will be left out. If you stick around for the end of the game, the players even come over to the MUSS and sing it one last time with the student section, whether they win or lose. Don’t be the only one who doesn’t know the lyrics — memorize them!
Fan Fest — Every year, the U holds a special event previewing the different sports programs at Rice-Eccles Stadium before the seasons actually begin. This year’s event will be on August 23 and will feature appearances from athletes from all Utah Athletics teams, as well as games, concessions and food and gear sales.
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