There has been a great deal posted on this board about Rick and whether he will stay or go after this season. 'Tis the season again, and when you've got the best, in anything, you fight hard to keep them. But, in the end, I don't think Utah, or the University of Utah, has what it takes to keep someone the calibre of Rick Majerus.... happy?

I want to preface my comments by saying that I have been a University of Utah student for seven years, practically my whole family, on both sides, have received at least their bachelor's degree from the University of Utah, or one type of degree, and I have deep ties to this state, both familial and geographical. I like Utah and I love the University of Utah, but something tells me that Rick deserves better. . . That he should be treated to a better program, one that truly reflects his passion and love for the game of college basketball... and that will allow Rick to reach his climax as a basketball coach.

Rick Majerus has brought the world to the University of Utah. Nationally, people no longer stumble over what a "Ute" is; they, for the most part, no longer snicker at a WAC team being ranked in the top ten, we are featured regularly by ever major publication and sports network in the country, national talk show hosts frequently discuss the University of Utah and Rick Majerus... We have national respect... For example, recently, I was in New York for a competition, and practically the first question that every male person asked me after they found out that I was from Utah was, "Are the Utes going to make another run, we were cheering for them last year. . . They play incredible as a team... I love Rick Majerus ..." Yes, not about the Utah Jazz. . .

In the college basketball world, we have indeed become front page news... Rick's record on and off the basketball court need not be recited to any of the Ute fans on this board. It is simply amazing... But what is most impressive about what he has done is the way he has done it--- with good/ nice players, stressing fundamentals and the importance of academics relative to life. No recruiting violations, no violation of NCAA rules, no players that degrade the University of Utah with their actions, etc. In that, he should make every Utah fan and alumni proud that he is a member of our University.

With all that the Rick has given this University, its fans, and the community -- and there is much more --, what have we given him in turn.

There are good things: the small group of Ute faithful, the boosters and alumni close to the program, a great Athletic director, freedom to pursue his program as he sees fit, a nice community, vary little criticism within the University, etc. But in other ways, our University and Utah in general ultimately fail.

We give rick . . .

1. on the morning of a big home game against Utep, on the back of a 17 game winning streak, a 33 game home winning streak, the second to last game of Andre Miller's career, a two paragraph Article discussing the Ute's game with the miners, along side a full article on New Mexico.

2. a media that is quick to criticize, yet reluctant to dish credit out for the success of the program; quick to pop out eating jokings and rick's idosyncracies, but reluctant to dwell on the Utes' unprecedented accomplishments; a media that knows virtually nothing about the program, and quite frankly gives it no respect relative to the national basketball media.

3. a home crowd that rarely is at capacity, and even when at capacity, resembles the enthusiasm of church goers listening to testimonials. A barage of bandwagoners, many of whom, for example, waited until the final four last year even to get tickets to the NCAA tourney.

4. a student section that should be banished, with the exception of possibly 500 students; students (about 100), apparently the "Ute hardcore", who wake up at 6:oo a.m. to get New Mexico tickets-- many of them being tickets for their first game of the year--- yet forego Utep tickets for the thursday night game against Utah.

5. local high school basketball coaches that are offended to come to Rick's practices because of his profanity, and that feel guilty they aren't attending BYU's practices, despite NBA and collegiate coaches around the country actively attempting to watch one of Rick's practices.

6. a community, that despite its efforts to get beyond stereotypes, struggles to attract players from around the country that aren't 6' 10', white and LDS; and rarely can sign an African American player (this is not to blame the community, but merely to point out a problem); a community that attaches LDS or non-LDS to every player at Utah, that struggles to accept the reality that there are different types of people in the world. etc...

7. A program, that despite all of its national accomplishments, is essentially treated as third-rate in the community behind the Utah Jazz and a below .500 BYU basketball program.

8. A call station that has pathetic T.V. announcers (i.e., Steve Brown), horrible advertizing, etc.. and a Radio Station that seems to be unable to get its act together, and with enough watts that you might, just might, be able to hear a Utah game in central Utah...

You get my point. As a die-hard Ute fan it will be a dark day when Rick Majerus leaves this University.... but there is something inside me, in a small corner, in an isolated portion of my heart, that hopes Rick goes somewhere that LOVES the game like he does, that can give him the tools he needs to show that he IS THE BEST BASKETBALL COACH IN THE COUNTRY.... and respects him as being such.

Any Thoughts...?

Legal Ute

Legal Ute --

Some interesting thoughts, but I don't think you are giving the Utah job its fair due. I'm the first to agree that our local sports pages are weak in their coverage (however, it looks like you only look at the SL Trib., surprisingly the Deseret News has a much better sports page), that fan support is poor in some cases, that Utah has some challenges (and yet some opportunities) for recruiting, etc. However, should he go to North Carolina, a basketball mecca, and yet a place that the radio station has to put in pre-recorded crowd noises because the fans are so apathetic, or Kansas where the student attendance continues to dwindle at a rapid rate, or Indiana where they have more than their fair share of "6'10" white guys," or St. John's where the media would truly be brutal? Where to you suggest Rick go.

Here he runs his own show (not a lot of big time places he could do that), here he is paid EXTREMELY well, I think that the local media treats him like a basketball god, here he is able to build a team that played for the national championship.

Rick is so far from flawless it's not funny and yet Utah is a place where they are very tolerant. Rick is crude, mean to the point of brutal to many of his players, the Utah high school coaches get little to no support from Rick -- Rick is rarely to never at his own basketball camps (a big deal to local coaches), he leaves the state at every opportunity. I also think he recruits players that fit into HIS system and they must be totally willing to be obedient to Rick to survive. I believe this turns off more players than the fact that he is at Utah. Utah never had a problem recruiting a diverse team before Rick came.

Anyway the list could go on and on. Suffice it to say, Rick is a phenomenal coach that we want to stay for a long time. However, he also has a very good situation -- why else wouldn't he have left by now.

I agree with most of what you post. But most of the problems that you point out are problems with local Utah culture which extend beyond U of U basketball, and are really unfixable. Sure, we could have better media outlets. My parents are fanatic Ute fans, but they live in Roosevelt, so they have to watch the Utes through horrible reception. TCI sucks and KJZZ has not yet had the foresight or perhaps the cash to get on sattelite like the 4 larger local stations have.

Religion should not be an issue with college sports, but in the state of Utah it always will be. BYU will always have more local fans than Utah just because the mormons (most of whom have never been on a college campus) will favor BYU. Most (not all) mormons equate cheering on BYU with being a good member of their church. I'm not sure how Utah can compete with that. Since most of the local population favors BYU, the media is certainly going to give them as much or more ink as the Utes. Also, the best TV and Radio provider (KSL) is owned by the LDS church, and therefore will always be "BYU's" station.

None of these opinions are new, but they are a fact of life. I think that Utah has come a long way in the past 10 years. We now compete with BYU on the football field, we dominate them in bastketball, and nationally we get as much if not more recognition. We are still the third game in town besides the Jazz and BYU, but perhaps Utah is closer than they used to be. As Utah's population continues to grow and hopefully become more diverse, perhaps the Utah faithful will continue to grow (as I believe they have). Also, maybe we will jump to the PAC 10 some day and leave BYU behind. This would certainly give us a leg up. In the meantime we have to be content with our dominance on the basketball court, hope that our football team continues to be on the same level as BYU's and perhaps even surpass them, and remember that while there are more BYU fans, Utah fans are more intelligent, more faithful and definitely more fun :-)!!!

Legal...

I read your post with a great deal of interest, and as hard as I try, it's is really difficult to disagree with any of your eight points. When you look at those items, it makes you wonder why someone like Rick Majerus would still be at a school like Utah, but he is.

At the CC luncheon on Monday Rick was discussing why David Jackson and Jimmy Carroll are no longer at the U. In essence they wanted to be someone that they were not. They both thought that they were as good or better than KVH and were not. They didn't realize that sometimes you are who you are and you need to be happy with that. Much of the success of Rick's team is in the fact that he has players who know who they are, know what they can do, and are willing to be just that. In doing that, they are seeing great success.

I think that more than anyone else around here, Rick Majerus realizes who Utah is what it can do and is willing to accept that and move on.

Yes, I have no argument with the fact that we have a(#1,#2) BYU/Jazz butt kissing media in Salt Lake;(#3) we have an aging fan base that doesn't like to get involved at the games;(#4) our student section is largely pathetic and doesn't deserve to have the opportunity to use as many tickets as they do (but remember, it IS a university, and the rest of us are merely visitors);(#5)we have some of the most pathetic high school coaches anywhere most of who couldn't coach their way out of a paper bag, so who cares about them anyway, it's their loss;(#6)a community that has come a long way, but still has a long way to go; (#7) with regard to this one, well....money and the LDS influence speaks very loudly in this community; (#8) not much can be added here.

With all of the negatives, Rick is still here, and in my opinion will still be here next year. Why? The University of Utah is a tremendous academic institution. Rick has great support from the administration relative (a Majerusism!!!) to academics. That is more important to him than you might think. He has complete control of his situation here at Utah. There aren't many places where that would be the same as Utah. He loves the players. The players that have and will be at Utah are coachable and for the most part play for the love of the game. I don't think that many of the McD's All-Americans are coachable in the Majerus system of play. He would kill them.

We aren't perfect here in this little corner of Zion, but we are pretty darn good, and we probably should be content with what and who we are and continue to enjoy this great ride that we are on, because most of the eight points you mention really aren't going change all that much.

Why has Rick Majerus stayed at Utah as long as he has? I don't have a clue, because common sense would have had him gone years ago, but he is still here, and he has given us a Final Four, who knows what this year, and judging by what we will have in the coming years, I am really thankful to have tickets at the Huntsman for every game. (By the way, I sold my Jazz tickets this year...screw the NBA)

We still have a lot of work to do regarding "Utes". The most common question posed to me in San Antonio last March by people outside of the west was...."what's a UTE?"

Go Utes!!!!!!!!!!!!

]

While you certainly put some thought into your analysis, I completely disagree with the conclusion reached.

The administration, media, and fans have given Rick all of the support and the autonomy that he NEEDED to put both Utah AND Rick Majerus on the national map.

I am quite confident that Rick has received all the local and national adulation, support, attention and respect that is necessary to feed even the largest of egos. I am certain that Rick is just as capable of looking after his own interest as he is in building Utah into a national powerhouse.

If anything I beveive that Donny Daniels and Jeff Judkins have not received the credit they deserve for Utah's sucess, perhaps because of the large shadow cast by Majerus.

While I might shed a tear or two for the Utes when he leaves Utah, I will never cry for Rick for choosing to stay a Utah.

jr

: Any Thoughts...?

FWIW, I really believe that last year's run to the National Championship has made a big difference in Ute Rooting. I see people wearing Ute sweatshirts, t-shirts, and hats all the time now, whereas 5 years ago, I was pretty much the only one in who would be wearing one in Cottonwood Mall.

People love a winner. Majerus will keep on winning, and the people will start to really respect the Utes locally.

I remember the Jazz going through similar growing pains 10-15 years ago. They couldn't give those tickets away. But look at the Jazz now. A few runs in the playoffs and the Jazz become the hottest ticket this side of the Rockies.

: Legal Ute

Matt Smith

What an awesome subject and a great question! What in the hell IS Rick doing here? I remember Coach K asking him that question a couple years back when they were both doing "color" for CBS during March Madness. "What ARE you doing out there (Utah, the West, the Mountains, the Mormons)?" What Coach K didn't say, but implied was "You belong back here with the rest of us (top coaches)."

I've wondered the same thing myself, especially in the early years of his tenure at Utah. Here's my take:

The job at Utah mirrors Rick Majerus's own experience with basketball. He loves the sport, but it's a sport that he never really fit with. A chubby white kid trying to make it with all the regular (black) super-athletes, the naturals. He was an anomaly in the basketball world; he didn't fit. The odds were stacked against him. But he persisted, because he loved and UNDERSTOOD basketball. He understood the relationship between basketball and education. He understood life's most fundamental qualities (of which "nice" language is NOT one).

Today he is in the same situation. The state of Utah, of all places! Isolated, Mormon, white, an anomoly to the rest of the nation. The University of Utah--2nd or 3rd rate in terms of respect within our own state. So, once again, he has the deck stacked against him. But this University that we all love also understands the quality of an education, and it understands the relationship between athletics, education, and life. I see Rick Majerus as a microcosm of the University itself. Those of us who have long since graduated know that the University gets much more recognition outside Utah than it does from within. So, too, Majerus. I really believe that "if you can make it there (Utah), you can make it anywhere"--as a coach and also as a University. That is the reason I am so passionate about the U of U. It survives, even though the deck is stacked against it, because of its fundamental qualities. So too does Rick. They are a PERFECT match.

So, while I agree with all your points, I disagree with the ultimate conclusion. Your points are reasons that Majerus should (and will) stay at Utah.

I find it interesting that BYU is the school going through an identity crisis--both academically and in sports. Look what happened to Reid. Football is suffering. And with the academic freedom issues attached to the school itself, no one really trusts the schools anymore (especially the PAC 10 schools).

Majerus has played a part in this. He still has work to do here, a mission to perform in "Zion."

My post was not intended to dish out blame, or to suggest that these deficiencies can be easily cured or that I know the answers to some of the difficulties confronting the University of Utah, or to unleash a cultural attack on Utah.

I agree with much of what you say, and I also believe that in time things will change dramatically and that the University of Utah will be the premier Univeristy in this State, and nationally respected in all aspects... With time, with the appropriate administration, and the natural evolution of our state, things will get better for the U of U --- much better.

However, Majerus is here now. IMO, he is the best at what he does. Yes he is brutal, demanding, at times profane, ecentric, etc., but that is part of what makes him great and why he can get players to play like they do, why he has acheived so much success. IMO, Majerus should not have to wait for better fan support, for a quality media that knows what they are doing, for an environment that is easy to recruit to, for a college basketball town, etc. He can go elsewhere an have all of those things now!!!! And there is a part of me that hopes he does, so he can rock the basketball world to the best of his abilities.

Good posts, I think these issues are critical and need to be discussed at least, if not attempted to be answered..

Legal Ute

Response to "Why Rick Deserves Better"
Stephen M. Hess <stephen.hess@usa.xerox.com>
Fri, 5 Mar 1999 09:30:35 -0700

While "Legal Ute" did appear to have some points, it occurs to me that most of them were not unique to Utah.  Utah is like most other "small" programs trying to earn some respect.  But Rick IS earning Utah some respect.  Why would he want to go to an established program to coach?  He's establishing his own program here.  After all, the programs at Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, and UCLA weren't always "established" and respected.  They had to start somewhere.

I have noticed that Utah seems to have an extra hard time garnering respect from the rest of the NCAA, probably due to its comparably light regular season schedule, but that's what made last year's Arizona and North Carolina games so great.

Utah has its drawbacks.  So does everywhere else Rick could go.  The disadvantages in Utah may be different from those anywhere else, but everywhere else has its own peculiar disadvantages too.  I think Rick recognizes this and likes Utah's own peculiar ADVANTAGES.

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