History
The University of Utah and the Utes
University of Utah athletics teams are known as the "Utes" in honor of the American Indian tribe for which the state of Utah is named. The Utes have inhabited this area of the country for at least 1,000 years. There were originally 12 "Nuche", or "The People", bands throughout Utah and Colorado. The Utes were among the first American Indians to acquire the horse as a means of transportation, and in rock writing the Utes are depicted as horses.
After several armed conflicts with Mormon settlers in 1861, the Utes were relocated to the Uintah Basin in northeastern Utah. Today, tribal headquarters are in Fort Duchesne, Utah, and the Ute Tribe, with a membership of 3,300 and its own tribal government, remains a vibrant part of the state. The University of Utah, in cooperation with the Ute Tribal Business Committee, is proud to share in the tradition of the Ute tribe through the "Utes" nickname.
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. But 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.
Beehive Boot
The Beehive Boot, which signifies instate football supremacy, was conceived in 1971. The authentic pioneer boot is awarded annually to the Utah school with the best record against its instate NCAA Division I foes. The schools who compete for the boot are Utah, Brigham Young and Utah State. In its 32-year history, the Beehive Boot has been awarded to Utah 10 times (1978, 1988, 1993, '94, '95, '99, 2002, 03, 04, and 05).
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 is awarded every year to the in-state college team (Utah, BYU, Southern Utah, Utah State and Weber State) which has the best won-loss record against in-state competition. Utah has won it 14 times since the trophy was born for the 1974-75 season.
Muss
The Student Fan Club at the University of Utah, a longtime basketball tradition, began participating at football games in 2002 and members renamed themselves The Muss. The Muss has reserved seats at the front of the student section at all home football, men's basketball and women's gymnastics events. Originally derived from the school fight song (* No other gang of college men dare meet us in a muss), the Utah student fan club has since used Muss as an acronym for "Mighty Utah Student Section." The Muss, who began overflowing their section in the 2003 football season, pride themselves in standing for the entire football game in support of the team. In 2004 ESPN voted The Muss as one of the top five student football sections in the country. Starting in 2005, the Utah football helmets sport a Muss sticker on the center back.