Utah Utes Football: Pac-12 spurring all-time excitement

By Trevor Phibbs

There weren’t any romantic dinners or exotic vacations. An exchange of gifts with sentimental value never happened, either.

The University of Utah and the Pac-12 Conference recently celebrated their one-year anniversary, and although they weren’t serenaded on an Italian gondola it’s safe to say this marriage is a perfect fit.

Utah football, specifically, is reaping the benefits from the alliance. With excitement at all-time level, every game at Rice-Eccles Stadium has sold out for the past two seasons with attendance exceeding the 45,000 maximum capacity.   

“Interest has just boomed to the point where if new season ticket holders want tickets you had to donate 15-hundred dollars,” said Chandler Wride, the annual fund director for the University of Utah.”

The demand for Utah sports is through the roof. The Pac-12 announced that every football and men’s basketball game will be televised nationally on six regional networks – Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Southern California, Arizona and for Utah and Colorado – the Mountain.

The 12-year television contract with ESPN and Fox is estimated at $3 billion – the most lucrative deal in history.

With seemingly unlimited exposure, Utah ticket sales will reach a pinnacle on Oct. 4 when USC, an early national-championship contender and preseason No.1 team, invades the hill. On Stubhub, tickets on the 59th row are priced at $589 apiece.

Utah and the Pac-12 is a case of love at first sight. The two instantly clicked and this was just year-one.

Now, imagine this marriage in year-five.