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SANDY -- The University of Utah officially joins the Pac-12 at midnight as it becomes a conference. The state has declared tomorrow "Utah Pac-12 Day," but a legion of Ute fans couldn't wait. They started celebrating Thursday night.
At the Utah Red Zone in Sandy, the first tailgating party of the conference kicked off. Making the leap to an elite conference is a big deal. Hundreds of fans wanted to show up and show support.
KSL's coverage continues Friday at noon for the official Pac-12 announcement, streaming live here on ksl.com and on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM.
The move is bound to be lucrative for sports and academics, but being in an automatic qualifying conference for the Bowl Championship Series seems to give these fans new swagger.
"Going undefeated and not having the opportunity to play for a national championship, being involved in getting in the Pac-12 really opens that door for the University of Utah, and not just for football but for all sports," said Ute fan Tim Bruett.
"It shows finally that we are getting some of the respect that we deserve," said fan Joe Hughes. "Besides the monetary advantages that we are going to have, it shows that we are getting the respect that we deserve and that we can run with anybody."
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The time has come for both Utah and BYU to tip their hats to the Mountain West Conference, shake hands, and say farewell as they embark on their own separate ways."It's a warmup before the game season starts, so to get our killer instinct going," said tailgater Ray Yelland.
KSL got a sneak peak at the new fan gear with the Pac-12 logo, fresh out of the boxes. It doesn't go on sale until midnight, but that's why a lot of these fans are celebrating already.
"With the amount of people calling and asking for it, we will struggle to keep our shelves full this year with Pac-12 merchandise," said Mike Cherry, marketing director for Utah Red Zone. "We will probably alone sell anywhere between close to 2,000 to 5,000 pieces of merchandise tonight alone."
As of 10 p.m. the crowd at the tailgating party was just getting going.
KSL's coverage continues Friday for the official Pac-12 announcement, streaming live from ksl.com and on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM.
"Utah Pac 12" day begins at noon on the Utah State Capitol Lawn. University administrators, athletic teams and state leaders will all take part.
Email: jboal@ksl.com
