Ute Traditions

Unique Events That Are Traditional At The University of Utah

The Block U

A unique symbol of the University of Utah is the "Block U," situated on the mountains east of Salt Lake City (just above the Utah campus). Students began painting their class numerals on "The Hill" in the early 1900s. Since the numbers changed annually, the students decided they wanted something more permanent that would promote loyalty and pride. The block U was originally built in 1907 on the foothill of Mount Van Cott. In 1969, the design was modified and 124 lights were installed. Seated 5,300 feet above sea level and standing 100 feet tall, the block U can be seen for miles. Lighted primarily for athletic events, the block U notifies everyone in the Salt Lake valley and beyond that the Utes are playing at home The U “flashes” its lights if the game results in a victory.

 

The Muss / Huntsman Hooligans

Definition:Muss (noun)   A confused conflict or state of disorder - Merriam-Webster's 10th Edition

Quote: “No other gang of college men dare meet us in the muss…” – 2nd Stanza of the Ute fight song “Utah Man.”

 

The Muss is the name for Student Football Fan Club. Similarly, the Huntsman Hooligans (named for the Huntsman Center where the basketball team plays) make up the Student Basketball Fan Club. Both organizations were founded by the Student Alumni Association in the spring of 2002 in response to lagging student attendance at games. since these groups were organized, student attendance has shown a dramatic increase (with inaugural-season memberships of over 300 for basketball and almost 900 for football). Members enjoy guaranteed tickets to games, a weekly newsletter, athlete speakers at tailgating parties, and opportunities for raffled sideline passes. These groups stand throughout the entire game, and bring great spirit to the game-day atmosphere.

 

The Band

The University of Utah Marching Band began in the 1940s as a military band that performed for university events and ceremonies. In 1948, University President A. Ray Olpin recruited Ron Gregory from Ohio State University to form a marching band fashioned after the great collegiate bands of the Midwest. The band continued as a lively part of the University community for the next 20 years. However, in the turbulent '60s, support for the band dwindled and in 1969, the Associated Students for the University of Utah (ASUU) discontinued its funding.

 

The band was revived in 1976 after a fund raising effort. Since then, the "Pride of Utah" Marching Utes have performed at all home football and basketball games, along with home gymnastics meets. They've also performed at numerous NFL and college bowl games.

 

Today, there are some unique traditions associated with the band:
 

• The “Script Utah” – When Ron Gregory formed the original marching band, he brought with him a marching formation that was big (and still is) in the Midwest. The idea was to have the band march in single file, spelling out the name of the school in cursive (script) letters on the field. Thus, he implemented the formation for the “script Utah,” with the band members forming the letters and the tuba section crossing the T. This tradition eventually died out, but when Gregg Hanson brought the band back into existence in the late ‘70s, he also reinstituted the script Utah formation. And the band has performed this almost every year since.
   
• American Pre-Game Tribute – Back in 1984, the United States hosted the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. That fall, the Ute marching band played a special Olympic-themed half-time show, which included a special arrangement of “God Bless America.” The arrangement was so popular that they moved it to the pre-game show, just before the national anthem. It has remained a traditional part of the pre-game ever since.
   
• Dancing “Bubbles” – In 1983, the band used the “Theme from Blues Brothers” as the music for one of the half-time shows. As they usually do with the music they learn for shows, they also played this in the stands at games. One day, they started to play this song and suddenly there was a big commotion over in the south-east stands. An elderly (but energetic) lady was wiggling herself back and forth in a dance that everyone in the stadium turned to watch. Eventually this became a tradition, and at the start of every fourth quarter, the band would play “Blues Brothers” as “Bubbles” danced away. She kept this up well into the late ‘90s, and then she “retired.” However, some time during the 2002 season, a new "Bubbles" revived the tradtion, coming out of the stands to dance in front of the marching band.
   
• Teasing the announcer – This happens at both basketball and football games. For legal reasons, the announcers must tell the crowd important information prior to the start of games. One thing the announcer always says is, “In the event it becomes necessary to evacuate the building…,” and then he pauses while the band yells, “Run like Hell” before completing his sentence.
   
  Also, due to the unique smoking laws, the announcer must indicate where the designated smoking areas are located. Therefore, he always says, “If you desire to smoke…,” and then pauses while the band yells, “Light yourself on fire” before completing his sentence.
   
• Post-game Alma Mater – This is a new tradition, started by coach Urban Meyer in 2003. Following each football game, the team shakes hands with the opponents, then they all gather near the students’ section. They raise their helmets in the air as a salute, while the band plays the Alma Mater (“Hail Utah”), followed by “Utah Man.”
   

Fight Song – Utah Man

The tune for "Utah Man" is borrowed from the burlesque song, "Solomon Levi." According to the U. music department, the lyrics were written in 1904 by then-football coach Harvey Holmes and his team, which sang it while imbibing. The original third line of the first verse was, "We drink our stein of lager, and we smoke our big cigar." The line was later changed, in the name of decorum perhaps, to "Our co-eds are the fairest, and each one's a shining star" -- which has in time become equally troubling. These days, most Ute fans merely stand and clap rather than sing the outdated lyrics (although the glorious middle stanza – “Who am I, sir, a Utah Man am I” – is still sung by most fans). Also, modern times have added a new tradition. The current marching band arrangement of Utah Man ends with a trumpet flourish, and when this concludes, the fans punch their fists in the air and in unison shout “GO UTES!!!!”

 

Fan Fest

Every August, when the football team is nearing the end of fall camp and school is about to begin, the athletic department holds an event called "Fan Fest." This free event is open to the general public, and those in attendance can get photographs with student athletes and coaches from all varsity programs (including football and men's basketball). Food and drinks are usually provided, and there are usually demonstrations, coaching tips and prize drawings.

 

Football Tailgating

Like many schools, tailgating has been a long-standing tradition prior to Ute football games. Originally, the tailgaters gathered in the west parking lot next to the stadium to barbeque, imbibe, and celebrate Ute football. Eventually this became too small a location, and now only an elite few are allowed to tailgate there. Most of the tailgaters now party in the parking lot next to the Veterans Administration Hospital (one block east of the stadium). Tailgating has been going on there for about ten years, with heavy media coverage. This year, with the start of the Urban Meyer era, they are starting to throw pre-game parties at the Gallivan Center in downtown Salt Lake (with the idea that fans can ride the Trax trains up to the stadium). These parties start as early as 7 am. Hopefully this tradition will continue.

 

Thunder-Ute Cannon

In the south-east corner of Rice-Eccles Stadium, there is a small red cannon known as the "Thunder-Ute" cannon. It is manned by the university ROTC corps, and they fire one shot off after every score during the football games. This single-gun salute is a signal to the cheerleaders, who run to the endzone and do one push-up for every point the Utes have scored to that point.

 

First-Down Chant

Whenever the football team gains a first down, key “fan leaders” will stand up in the student’s section (and also in the southwest stands). This is the cue for the rest of the crowd to stand as well. The leaders raise their hands high in the air to count off, ‘one, two, three…’ and then the entire crowd yells the chant of, “Utah (pause) First-Down!” There are also hand gestures that accompany this chant. When the crowd yells the word “Utah” they all point down at the football field, and when they yell the word “First-Down” they fling their arm and point in the direction the team is moving the ball (in much the same way as the referee signals a first down).

 

Homecoming

The first Homecoming game was held at the U. on November 12, 1921 against Colorado and ended in a scoreless tie. Since then, several traditional events have become customary during the week before the homecoming game:

 

• Greek House Decorating Contest – All of the fraternities on campus decorate their houses (on Greek Row) with a patriotic show of school colors. The decorations are judged at the end of the week, and the winners announced during the football game.
   
• SongFest – The fraternities, religious institutes, and other student clubs affiliated with the University participate in a humorous competition wherein group representatives perform songs of their own creation. The event is always held in Kingsbury Hall (a historic auditorium used by the college of performing arts).
   
• Bonfire Pep Rally – Held adjacent to the Pro Shop on the University golf course, all students and alumni are welcome to attend this mid-week spark before the big game.
   
• 5K Run – The morning of the game, the alumni association sponsors a 5k race for anyone wishing to participate.
   
• Pre-game Barbecue – The events of the week all culminate in the big game. To celebrate the game, the athletic department sponsors a pre-game barbeque for the Ute faithful. Then comes the big game.
   

Utah By Five

This saying originated with Tom Barberi of KALL radio (a noted Ute supporter). I’m not sure when he first used the saying, but before every game he still always predicts the score will be “Utah by five – trust me.” And, over the past 20 years, it has become a rallying cry for all diehard Ute fans.

 

Incidentally, there are many legends about how this saying came to be so popular among the Ute faithful. My favorite (which I’m sure is totally untrue, but I like it anyway) goes back to the time when the saying “we’re number one” was a popular trend heard in many sports venues. And, like all trendy things, the BYU faithful picked up on this with a passion. Everywhere in the stands at BYU you would see large foam fingers pointing out that they were #1. One day, at a BYU vs. Utah game, the BYU fans started their cheer of, “We’re number one, were number one…” In a mocking gesture, the Ute fans started cheering, “You’re number five, you’re number five…” while holding up all five fingers. Bill Marcroft (the Ute broadcaster) could not tell what they were yelling, and he said, “it sounds like ‘U by five…’ – check it, I’ve just been told they’re saying ‘Utah by five.’” After that, the saying stuck, and it is now tradition.

 

Beehive Boot

The Beehive Boot, a trophy that signifies instate football supremacy, was conceived in 1971. The trophy gets its name because Utah is known as the “Beehive State” (since the pioneer settlers believed that the beehive was a symbol of industriousness and cooperation). The trophy (an authentic pioneer boot) is awarded annually to the Utah school with the best record against its instate NCAA Division I foes. The schools that compete for the boot are Utah, Brigham Young and Utah State. If the teams should end the season with identical records against in-state opponents, a winner is chosen by vote of the in-state media who covered the schools. This situation has occurred twice in the history of the boot (1973 and 1997). In its 32-year history, the Beehive Boot has been awarded to Utah seven times (1978, 1988, 1993, '94, '95, '99 and 2002).

 

Oquirrh Bucket

The Old Oquirrh Bucket (named after the Oquirrh Mountains to the west of Salt Lake City) is the symbol of in-state basketball supremacy in Utah. The trophy (an actual antique bucket that has been bronzed) is awarded every year to the in-state college team (Utah, BYU, Southern Utah, Utah State and Weber State) which has the best win-loss record against in-state competition. Utah has won it 12 times (including 2002-03) since the trophy was born for the 1974-75 season.

 

Rivalry Week

Rivalry week occurs whenever the Utes play BYU in football or basketball. And there are MANY unique traditions surrounding these events:

 

• “Tagging” Opponent Symbols – This is one of the less-savory traditions, but it is tradition none the less. During rivalry week , it is common for fans of each school to try and paint their colors on symbols around the others’ campus. At the U, the most predominant symbol is the Block U on Mount Van Cott. For this reason, the fraternities often take it upon themselves to “guard” the U (i.e., watch out for Cougars trying to paint it). Despite this, there is always occasional success, wherein the U is blue the day of the game.
   
  At the Y, their mountain letter is generally safe because it is too long a hike to get to it without being caught. However, there are numerous statues around campus that have been traditional targets – especially the bronze cougar in front of their stadium. For this reason, the entire police force in Provo is on heavy alert during rivalry week.
   
• Finding Cosmo Contest – Cosmo is the name given to BYU’s mascot. In a mocking gesture, the school hides a little toy Cougar somewhere on campus, then every day in the school paper, they publish clues about where “Cosmo has been sighted.” By the end of the week, someone always finds Cosmo and wins a prize for ejecting him from the campus.
   
• Student Newspaper Column Exchange – During rivalry week for football, the Daily Universe at BYU and the Chronicle at the U exchange articles explaining why one team will win and the other will lose. These articles always play heavily on the stereotypes surrounding this rivalry, and if taken with a grain of salt are very entertaining.
   
• Paul James – I don’t know if this is still a tradition or not, but it was for MANY years. Paul James was the radio play-by-play broadcaster for BYU from about 1971 until 2001 (I’m not sure of the exact years). However, his home is located in the shadow of Mount Olympus – ten minutes drive from the U. Because of this, the U fraternities always took it upon themselves to decorate his home in bright red the night before every game. And, because they were good sports about it, they always came to clean up afterward.
   

Offseason Golf Challenge

Every June (since 1988), the head football coach at Utah puts together a foursome of himself and three other excellent golfers to challenge the BYU head coach to an 18-hole round of golf at the Salt Lake City Country Club. The winner claims only bragging rights, but the loser is forced to sing the opponent's fight song standing at a podium microphone in front of the local media. All proceeds go to the National Kidney Foundation, and in 2004 the event raised over $60,000 for the charity.