Dear Utah Athletics Family,
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The 2025-26 academic year is upon us, and the excitement and energy on our campus is palpable. There is tremendous momentum carrying over from summer workouts for our student-athletes, and our fall sports teams can't wait to compete in front of our greatest fans in the weeks ahead.
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I am incredibly grateful for the hard work and commitment of our student-athletes, coaches and our staff for the work they've put in over the summer to prepare for the year. The work never stops in college athletics, and we are fortunate to have such a committed group that is passionate about serving our programs and our fans, and making sure our second year in the Big 12 Conference is a special one.
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Over the summer, we implemented the plans we prepared in anticipation of the settlement in the
House vs. NCAA case, which was formally approved in June. The settlement brought important changes in the way we can provide support to our student-athletes, and we are all-in on directly providing up to $20.5 million and signing student-athletes to individual NIL contracts. We also have added more than 20 scholarships across our sport programs for 2025-26, as permissible by the settlement.
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As we planned for these changes, we also restructured the roles of our senior leadership team to directly manage these new processes through our reimagined
Elevate U program. We will work hard to ensure that we are operating in the most effective way to stay competitive and achieve the level of excellence to which we've become so accustomed at the University of Utah. Our loyal supporters are partners with us in setting and maintaining that standard, and we intend to continue to compete for championships with the elite student-athletes, coaches and staff in our program.
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TOWN HALLS
Over the past week, we held a series of Town Hall conversations with key stakeholders to educate them about the changes in this new day in college athletics, and to emphasize the important role our fans and supporters will continue to play in ensuring our future success. We look forward to visiting with the community and media this Saturday, Aug. 16, from 5:30-6:30 p.m., for our final Town Hall, and invite those interested to
RSVP here.
Please join us before you come to Fan Fest from 7-9 p.m.
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FUNDRAISING SUCCESS
We are incredibly grateful for our
Crimson Club members who produced a third-consecutive record year for athletics fundraising in 2024-25, investing $63.3 million from a record 11,502 donors. This investment in the growth, support and resources that empower and equip the students in our athletics programs to achieve excellence demonstrates the tremendous passion and pride they have for the Utah Utes. Supporting our student-athletes through contributions to the Crimson Club Excellence Fund, team excellence funds and season-ticket purchases provides the annual financial support that funds scholarships and allows our exceptional student-athletes to achieve success.
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FOOTBALL 2025 KICKOFF
In just 16 days, our football team kicks off the season at UCLA, and one week later, returns to Rice-Eccles Stadium for our 90th consecutive sellout—an incredible achievement that you make happen. Season-tickets have sold out, and only single-game tickets remain for several of our home games, reflecting the great excitement and anticipation of our fans for Coach Whittingham's 21st season as head coach.
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BASEBALL STADIUM CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
In the past several weeks the turf has been laid down at our new on-campus ballpark, Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark. This tremendous project is made possible by the commitment and support of our donors, partnerships with sponsors and the work of Layton Construction. This beautiful state-of-the-art facility will be a gamechanger for our baseball program, provide incredible training and development for our student-athletes, and enhance day-to-day efficiencies that position them for success. We can't wait to see the team on the field practicing this fall, and all of you in the stands next spring when the games begin.
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RUNNIN' UTES AND ALEX JENSEN
This summer was a tremendous period of growth and development for our men's basketball program, as Alex Jensen laid the foundation for his first Runnin' Utes team. Coach has hit the ground running after returning home to Salt Lake City last spring, and our student-athletes have benefited greatly from the leadership of Coach Jensen, general manager Wes Wilcox and the excellent coaching and support staff. I encourage all of our fans to
secure their season-tickets now, and not miss the chance to see this team take the floor in the Huntsman Center this year.
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We look forward to seeing all of you soon, cheering on our teams and supporting our student-athletes in all of the ways you do, and celebrating many more victories in the year ahead.
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With Gratitude,

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