Utah Utes to the Pac-10

It's been a while since I've posted anything on my blog. And there have been some incredible things going on in the world. Oil leaks both locally and abroad, economic woes continue, and the World Cup whipping people into a frenzy.

The biggest news, however, came about two weeks ago when the Pac-10 athletic conference invited two teams to join their ranks. The University of Colorado (at Boulder) was invited first and accepted nearly immediately, the other the greatest university in the country...THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH.

As I posted on Facebook days before the invitation was extended "Just get together already. He wants her, she wants him. Pac-10 just invite the Utes. The Utes have already rented a tux and bought the flowers."

Utah accepted the invitation just hours after it was extended, and the Utes are now set to leave the ranks of the lower tier college sports and join the prestigious ranks of the "classiest" conference in the country. It is the dream of every Ute fan to join the Pac-10, one that was thought to be far-fetched. But as is the case Dreams do come true.

So to introduce ourselves to the ranks of the Pac-10 here are the basics about our beloved Utes so that you understand, we come to party...and we won't stop partying until where handed the roses.

Name: The University of Utah

Location: Salt Lake City, Utah. Approximately 5 miles east of downtown SLC.

Founded: 1850 as the University of Deseret by Brigham Young (the irony of the fact that the former-Mormon leader founded the school and our chief rival is named after him is not lost on us).

Chief Rival: BYU, and to a lesser extent Utah State University.

Mormon?: While the majority of the state of Utah are Mormon, Salt Lake City is only about 35-40% Mormon.

Alcohol?: Oh yeah we drink, and we drink with the best of 'em. Swing by our tailgate parties and you'll see that we mean business.

Nickname: Utes, after the Native American tribe that lived in the mountains around SLC. The state's name Utah is also derived from the tribe meaning "people of the mountains."

Sensitivity?: The University of Utah has an agreement with the Ute Tribe that states the school may use the name as long as they do not disgrace it.

Stadiums: Football: Rice-Eccles Stadium-seats 45,000; Basketball: Jon M. Huntsman Center-seats 15,000; Baseball: Spring Mobile Ballpark-seats 15,000.

Famous Alumi: NFL - Alex Smith, Scott Mitchell, Steve Smith, & Jamal Anderson. NBA - Andrew Bogut, Keith Van Horn, Andre Miller, Tom Chambers, Michael Doleac, & Hanno Mottola.