This article originally appeared in the Off-Script print issue, in stands November 2025. It has not been updated and some information may be out of date.
The University of Utah’s football program has a deep and enriched history that dates all the way back to 1892. In the early days of football at the U, it was a lot more simpler than what we see today.
Early years: 1929 – 1949
From the dirt and mud of Walker Field to only being protected by leather helmets and cotton battings sewn into their jerseys, the university’s first inaugural season finished with one win and two losses. In 1925, the football program joined the Rocky Mountain conference, led by head coach Ike Armstrong, who led the university to four undefeated seasons (1926, 1929, 1930 and 1941) from 1925 to 1949.
In 1938, the Utes joined the Mountain States/Skyline Six Conference. In the 1938-39 season, Armstrong led the team to its first bowl game, beating New Mexico 26-0 in the 1939 Sun Bowl.
Ike Armstrong left the university in 1949, compiling a record of 141-55-15. His 25-year tenure is the longest of any Utah Utes football head coach, and his 141 wins are the second most in program history. Under Armstrong, Utah won 13 conference championships, seven in the Rocky Mountain Conference and six in the Mountain State/Skyline Six Conference.
Post-war to modernization: 1950 – 1973
In 1950, head coach “Cactus” Jack Curtice took over and coached the Utes from 1950 to 1958. In his eight seasons as the head coach at Utah, Curtice’s teams won four Skyline Conference Championships and compiled a 45-32-4 overall record (32-9-2 against Skyline opponents). During his time at the university, Curtice invented the “Utah Pass” (shove-it pass), a forward pitch from the quarterback to the running back, a play in the playbook that we still see to this day.
In the 1958 season, Curtis left Utah for the head coaching job at Stanford University. From 1958 to 1973, the Utes had three different head coaches, Ray Nagel, Mike Giddings and Bill Meek. In those 15 years, those three had a combined record of 84-82-0. Meek coached the Utes the longest out of those three, coaching the Utes for five seasons from 1968 to 1973.
Changing times: 1970s – 1980s
In the 1970s, the university had a lot of changes, not only with the Astroturf but also changing the long-lasting “Ute Stadium” name. In 1972, the university changed the stadium’s name to Rice Stadium following the major $1 million renovation donation from Robert. L. Rice. “Ute Stadium” was the name of the stadium from 1927 to 1971.
Another major change for Utah in the 70s was the university’s mascot. In 1947, the university adopted the mascot “HO-YO”, a Native American caricature. Even with the name and imagery, “HO-YO” had no connection to the Ute people. The civil rights movement in the 1960s sparked debates about native American mascots in sports. By 1972, the university retired “HO-YO” and discouraged the use of the charged term “Redskins.” With the approval of the Northern Ute tribe, the teams of the university were officially named the Utes. Starting in 1985, the “Crimson Warrior,” a student dressed in a native costume, rode onto the field on a horse before games. In 1996, the university introduced a new mascot, “Swoop,” a red-tailed hawk.
The McBride era: 1990 – 2002
In 1990, Ron McBride took over as head coach of the Utes. McBride was the head coach for 12 seasons, 1990-2002. Before getting the head coach position, McBride was the offensive line coach for Utah in the 1985-86 season and the offensive coordinator for the Utes from 1977 to 1982.
McBride inherited a program that had only had five winning seasons in the previous 16 years and had not posted a winning season in the Western Athletic Conference since 1985. It didn’t take long for McBride to turn the team around. In 1991, in his second season, he brought the team to a 7-5 overall record. In the 1991-92 season, he led the Utes to the 1992 Copper Bowl, the program’s first bowl appearance in 28 years. McBride led Utah to six bowl games during his tenure as head coach, a noteworthy feat considering the Utes had played in just three bowl games in the previous 97 years. McBride‘s teams had bowl wins against USC (2001 Las Vegas Bowl), Arizona (1994 Freedom Bowl) and Fresno State (1999 Las Vegas Bowl).
McBride‘s best season came in 1994 when he led Utah to a then-record of 10 wins and attained the highest postseason ranking, at the time, in school history, climbing to No. 8 in the ESPN poll and No. 10 in the AP poll. In conference play, McBride led the Utes to a 58-42 record and won two conference championships, in 1995 in the Western Athletic Conference and in 1999 in the Mountain West Conference. McBride’s Utes held their own against in-state rival BYU, winning six of their last 11 against the Cougars after losing 16 of the previous 18 before he took over.
Meyer and the Rise to Prominence: 2003 – 2004
After the 2002 season, McBride was fired and replaced by Urban Meyer. Despite the inglorious end to McBride‘s tenure at the university, he is credited with laying the main foundation for Utah’s rise to national prominence under Meyer.
After two seasons at Bowling Green, Meyer was the next head coach for the Utes. In his first season in 2003, Meyer was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year with a 10-2 record, the best for a coach’s first year at Utah. Meyer’s success can be attributed to his unique style of offense, the West Coast offense, which relies on short passing routes. This led the Utes to a 12-0 undefeated season and to a Fiesta Bowl win over Pittsburgh, capping off the Utes’ first perfect season since 1930.
In 2003, Utah Utes quarterback Alex Smith threw for 2,247 yards and 15 touchdowns and had 452 yards on the ground with five rushing touchdowns. In 2004, he threw for 2,952 yards with 32 touchdowns and had 631 yards on the ground for 10 rushing touchdowns. Meyer’s offensive style was a huge reason why Alex Smith was considered a top pick going into the 2005 NFL draft.
Whittingham’s legacy: 2005 – Present
After the 2004 season, Urban Meyer left Utah for the University of Florida. After the regular season, Kyle Whittingham was announced as the next head coach for the Utes. Whittingham has been the head coach of the football team since 2005. Before landing the head coaching job at Utah, Whittingham was the defensive coordinator for two seasons under Meyer and had spent eight previous years as a coach in various positions on the defensive side of the ball. With his time at the university, Whittingham has coached the Utes in three different conferences and has one Mountain West Conference championship (2008), two Pac-12 Conference Championships (2021-2022) and holds the record for most wins by a Utah head coach. Over the span of 21 seasons, Whittingham has a coaching record of (After Cincinnati) 174-88.
From the humble beginnings on Walker Field to national prominence, Utah’s football history reflects resilience, innovation and long-lasting tradition. An enduring legacy that continues to inspire generations of Utah Utes fans.
