It’s that time of year — when students rush to the campus store for books, when freshmen are constantly checking campus maps to find buildings their classes are in and of course, when the Utes take to the field, pitch and court for the fall sports season.
We’re nine days away from the football team taking on Michigan in Rice-Eccles Stadium, four days away from the girls soccer team taking on Houston in its home opener, four days away from the volleyball team’s season opener and 11 days from the first cross-country meet.
There’s a lot to be excited about with Utah Athletics finally getting into the swing of things — from the Third Down Jump in the MUSS to cheering on Lindsey Luke and her teammates at Ute Field — this might be the best year yet for the Utes all across the board.
Utah Athletics had a pretty good run last year, collectively. The volleyball team made it to the NCAA Tournament, falling to No. 11 Nebraska in the second round and finished the season in the Top 25. The soccer team is coming off an 8-8-4 2014 campaign, but returns a solid core that remained competitive in a tough conference. The cross country team returns sophomore Sarah Feeny who is coming off a summer where she competed at the Junior Pan-Am Games and finished in third place for the mile.
And of course, you can’t forget the Utes on the gridiron, who finished last season with their best record since joining the Pac-12 at 9-4, including a Las Vegas Bowl victory over Colorado State. With Devontae Booker and a number of other contributing pieces back for 2015, they are poised to make some noise again.
Each season, Utah has improved steadily in nearly every sport, and this school is no longer the punching bag of the conference. Instead, the Utes are now a formidable opponent, and recruiting throughout has improved because of the success the sports teams at the U have had recently.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not out here proclaiming one of these teams, or a number of them, are going to be contending for national titles. Hell, they may not even contend for a Pac-12 title, depending on the sport.
However, what I am saying is this is an exciting time for all of Utah Athletics, and I’m willing to bet from a number and record standpoint alone, this will be the most successful year the department has seen since joining the Conference of Champions.
So whether you’re a freshman new to the campus or a senior entering his or her final athletic season as a Ute fan, you should go to any and every sporting event possible. Not only will you be able to watch some of the more successful teams Utah has fielded in the last couple of years, but who doesn’t have a good time when cheering on the Utes with a bunch of other Utah fans?
So for your own sake, go to matches, go to races, go to games. If you don’t, you might regret it.
@GriffDoug