Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus UVU on September 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Volleyball
vs UVU
The University of Utah Sports Nutrition department includes 5 full-time Registered Dietitians (RD) that work directly with student-athletes and serves as a practicum site for graduate students in the University of Utah Coordinated Master’s in Sports Nutrition program.
The goal of the sports nutrition department is to help student-athletes learn healthy behaviors that will assist them during their athletic career, as well as help them lead a healthy lifestyle post-competitive career. Our team of sports dietitians work closely with the rest of the high-performance team to ensure a holistic approach to the overall health and well-being of the student-athlete.
We provide comprehensive performance nutrition services to each student-athlete which include:
- Individual nutrition consultations- including body composition goals, challenges in transitioning to college, fueling for performance and recovery, hydration education, etc. Team nutrition education sessions
- Grocery store tours
- Dining hall plate coachinG
- Hands-on cooking classes
- Body composition testing using DXA (dual X-RAY absorptiometry) or BODPOD (air displacement technique)
- Hydration testing
- Micronutrient intake assessment and supplementation as needed
- Fueling stations for pre- and post- training
- Dietary supplement review
- Restaurant recommendations during travel
- Coordination pre-game and post-game meals
- Menu development with Head Chef at All-Athlete Dining Hall
Each student-athlete will meet with a sports dietitian for an individual assessment. Student-athletes should expect a supportive environment, and for the dietitian to honor food preferences and cultures while setting realistic nutrition goals. The sports dietitian will then identify areas of improvement and provide nutrition counseling as needed for specific challenges such as food allergies/intolerances, weight loss, weight gain, disordered eating, maintaining energy levels, fueling for sport, medical conditions, etc.
We work with individual student-athletes and teams to provide education and fuel, as well as sports medicine including the team physician and athletic trainers. In the case of injury or illness, we consider perioperative needs such as inflammation management, attenuation of muscle loss, weight management, appetite and eating regularity, and nutrients of concern.
Our department serves as dietary supplement experts for athletes to ask questions about efficacy and safety of dietary supplements. We also ensure all dietary supplements provided to the student athlete meet NCAA guidelines. In the case of altered nutrition-related lab values such as vitamin/mineral deficiencies, we provide both supplements and education on usage.
To assist with day-to-day fueling needs, all student-athletes have access to the fueling station located at the Sorensen High Performance Center. The Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Facility has an additional fueling station for football student-athletes. The sports nutrition staff collaborates with the Head Chef at the Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Facility’s All-Athlete Dining hall to ensure meals are reviewed and prepared for high performance fueling.
Nutrition Staff
