A Letter from Mark Harlan

Dear Utah Athletics Family,

As we turn the page to 2025 and begin a new year, we also mark the midway point in our 2024-25 academic year, and I'm incredibly proud of our student-athletes, coaches and staff for their tremendous work in navigating our transition into the Big 12 Conference and for continuing to set the bar high in the classroom, in competition and in the community.

The fall was highlighted by our volleyball program returning to the NCAA Tournament, hosting the first and second rounds in front of our great fans in the Huntsman Center, capping a fantastic season that saw the Utes reach as high as No. 17 in the AVCA rankings and finishing third in the Big 12. Beth Launiere's squad ended the year in the Top 25, with 25 wins—the most since 2008. In addition, our women's cross-country team achieved its third consecutive Top 20 finish at the NCAA Championships in November; our women's soccer program showed improvement in its first season in the Big 12; football offensive lineman Spencer Fano won All-America honors; and we celebrated Utah legend Alex Smith's induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, as well as his induction as the first member of our new Utah Football Ring of Honor.

On top of all of that, we celebrated the release of the NCAA's 2024 Graduation Success Rate (GSR) report in November, as the Utes earned a 95-percent graduation rate (our seventh consecutive year with a GSR of 93-percent or higher), tying the department record and tying for the second-highest mark of any power conference public institution. This is a phenomenal achievement that reflects the elite students who compete across our 20 sports programs, and a culture of excellence in all facets of the Department that prioritizes the importance of student-athletes earning a degree during their time at the University of Utah.

The results of the football season were not up to our historic standards that have been established for more than two decades under the leadership of Kyle Whittingham, and I am appreciative of the way Coach Whittingham and his staff have responded, by immediately turning their focus towards enhancing the roster and bolstering the staff. We are fortunate to have Coach Whittingham returning for his 21st year—and his 32nd overall—with the program. There is positive energy throughout the program as they begin the first quarter of the offseason this week with the start of the strength and conditioning program, and I'm excited about the new student-athletes joining our team, both high school signees and transfer portal additions. I'm also incredibly proud of the returning student-athletes who are committed to steering our team back to the level of success to which we've grown accustomed. Our student-athletes, coaches and staff are doing the work each day to build a winning team for 2025.

As we enter into January, we are in the heart of Big 12 Conference play for both men's and women's basketball. Our women's team has continued to play at a very high level since Gavin Petersen took over as head coach early in the season, including earning a win over No. 3 ranked Notre Dame and moving into the Top 25 this week. Our men's basketball team continues to battle and put forth maximum effort, and we will continue to support this team and our highly-committed group of student-athletes as they face a very crucial stretch in the Big 12 schedule. Meanwhile, the preseason No. 5 Red Rocks are back in action, the Utah Ski Team is beginning its chase of another national championship—seeking to earn back the trophy it held from 2019-23—and multiple spring sports are starting soon.

Reflecting on a strong finish to the 2024 calendar year, I'm also incredibly grateful for the support, commitment and investment of our donors who helped us far exceed our goals with our most successful year-end scholarship drive ever. The goal was to fund the value of 30 full scholarships, and our supporters pushed us well beyond that in the month of December. The passion, belief and enthusiasm of those who love the Utes is evident in the number of new donors and in the all-time record number of donors and funds raised in 2024.

This support makes a significant difference for Utah Athletics and is vital to our future success as we potentially move into a more permissive environment of NCAA rules with regard to student-athlete benefits later this year. The University of Utah will be adding athletics scholarships and sharing revenue with student-athletes at the maximum allowable threshold, which is expected to total $20.5 million in the 2025-26 academic year, pending the expected final approval of the proposed House vs. NCAA settlement in April.

The Crimson Collective, the local entity that has been supporting and operating the fundraising and activation for Utah Athletics student-athletes' name, image and likeness opportunities, has been extraordinary in support of our student-athletes' NIL endeavors. The proposed settlement allows universities to manage all of these operations, including fund-raised dollars that will go directly to the University for our student-athletes going forward. As such, we will take that great baton that they are handing to us and continue to raise the bar with our NIL funding and corporate and community support in 2025. We will forever be grateful for the Crimson Collective's leadership team, their board and all who have invested in cultivating opportunities for our student-athletes.

It is imperative that we go all-in on this investment in order to recruit, develop and retain the elite students who will continue to ensure that Utah Athletics excels in the way we've grown accustomed to expect. Over the last three years, our student-athletes, coaches and staff have achieved three of the most successful years in Utah Athletics history, and I'm impressed by the way our sport programs are attacking this first year in the Big 12 with terrific drive and hunger to win championships.

None of this would be possible without the consistent support from you, our fans, which you have demonstrated year after year, helping to elevate our national profile and position Utah Athletics for future success. In 2024 you helped us extend our streak of selling out Rice-Eccles Stadium to 89 consecutive games, dating back to the start of the 2010 season. The atmosphere in Rice-Eccles Stadium is truly special, and the home-field advantage that you create has resulted in the Utes winning 70-percent of their home games over the past 20 years. That same passion and support was on display for our volleyball program in October, when our fans broke the previous attendance record with a total of 5,953 packing the Huntsman Center for a 3-0 sweep of BYU.

I can't wait until our baseball team can enjoy that same passion and energy on campus when they take the field in their new stadium in 2026. We broke ground last summer on Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark, located on Guardsman Way, and I look forward to seeing our student-athletes compete in their own stadium on campus.

I want to close with an expression of appreciation for the impact our students are having by investing their time and care to our community. Utah's student-athletes completed more than 1,500 hours of community service in the 2024 calendar year, making a significant impact in the local Salt Lake City community, the state of Utah, and beyond.

We are proud of what was accomplished in 2024, and we feel a tremendous sense of momentum and excitement among our programs and our loyal supporters as we move into 2025. Thank you for the significant role you have played in our past successes and those that lie ahead. That support is vital to creating the most exceptional experience possible for our student-athletes and for ensuring that we continue to compete for championships.

Go Utes!

mark_harlen_sig

Mark Harlan
Director Athletics

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Recent Results

Completed Event: General versus Arizona on January 18, 2002

Completed Event: General versus Utah St on November 30, 2001 , Win , 3, to, 1

Completed Event: General versus San Diego St on November 17, 2001 , Win , 166, to, 120

Completed Event: General versus UNLV on November 10, 2001 , Loss , 114, to, 117

Completed Event: General versus UNLV on November 10, 2001 , Loss , 89, to, 189.5

Completed Event: General at Oregon St on October 26, 2001 , Loss , 89, to, 116

Completed Event: General versus Utah St on October 23, 2001 , Win , 3, to, 1

Completed Event: General versus UNLV on November 10, 2000

Completed Event: General versus UNLV on November 10, 2000 , Loss , 82, to, 120

A Letter from Mark Harlan

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