Block U, a Utah Utes community

If you are both a Ute fan and a data geek (like me) this is pretty fun to flip through. The crosstabs section, in particular, touches on some fascinating demographics that I think are both illuminating and, I believe, extremely encouraging regarding the future of U athletics. I will let you interpret for yourselves, but I will say the polling suggests big differences in the demographics of fanbases in the state of Utah.

This surprising news was buried in a Deseret News article about the state budget. One thing that might be noticed by Utah fans is the elimination of the annual Fan Fest in August, which brings coaches and players together to interact with fans. Although the popular event has several sponsors, including the Deseret News, it costs the U. $20,000. This really is a disappointment, since Fan Fest generally gets fans hyped for the upcoming season. I remember in 2004 how much of a role it played in creating that buzz prior to the Texas A&M game and it's not going to be the same without it. Hopefully, though, someone can step up and help fund this thing and it won't be canceled, but right now it looks grim.