Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Utes are suffering from major first-world problems
It’s the difference between a Ford Pinto and a Lamborghini, between South Central Los Angeles and Rodeo Drive, between the United States and Belize.
It’s money, and a lot of it can be found at the University of Utah these days. As a result, the U. is going on a spending spree, upgrading virtually everything that is upgradeable for every athletics program that dons crimson.
New football facility? Sure! New baseball diamond? Why not? New basketball training center? No-brainer! Renovations to the Huntsman Center? Well, of course! While we’re at it, let’s throw in a new natatorium, soccer field and indoor driving range.We’re not just talking about your run-of-the-mill backyard sport court, either. We’re talking about virtual sporting palaces. Take a look at artist depictions of the new George S. Eccles Student Life Center — it looks like a good mix of Augusta National Country Club and a Sultan’s palace.
There’s just one small problem — it turns out the high-quality stuff is a bit more expensive than the stuff the Utes used to buy when Utah was part of that other league.
To pay for all of this, Utah has employed the following strategy: spend now what will be received in years to come, or rather, go into debt.
The U. is on the hook for tens of millions of dollars and is steadily accruing more crimson on its balance sheet than at any other time in the history of the university in order to pay for all of these projects, most of which were bonded out and are not yet fully funded.
In the old days, this debt would be a cause for concern, but not today. The Pac-12 revenue stream into Utah’s coffers is as sure as the Alaska Pipeline and is nearly as lucrative.
From the Pac-12, Utah took in $9.9 million in 2012-13 and will receive $14.5 million in 2013-14 and $23.3 million for 2014-15. After that, projections are a revenue increase of 4 percent annually. Not to mention the millions more the U. is receiving every year from its university and athletics fundraising campaigns.
“The Pac-12 money has allowed us to essentially make the projects Pac-12 caliber,” Utah athletics director Chris Hill told the Deseret News. “It’s the first time we’ve been in this position.”
Which, of course, is doubtlessly devastating for U. administrators, coaches, student athletes and Utah fans.
Alex Smith is learning aspects of the pistol offenseAlex Smith left San Francisco after Colin Kaepernick, a young, firecracker QB whose offensive game is built around the pistol offense and the read-option, stole the starting job.
Kaepernick’s game took the league by storm after Smith went down with a concussion midseason, leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl for the first time since Steve Young was named Super Bowl MVP. Now, that same pistol offense has followed Smith out of San Francisco.
This week, the Chiefs hired Chris Ault, the pioneer of the pistol offense and former head coach of the Nevada Wolfpack — Kaepernick’s alma mater — as a consultant as Kansas City seeks to add read-option plays to its playbook.
"We do a little bit of everything, so that's what we've always done,” Kansas City head coach Andy Reid said. “We're not featuring that, but we mess around with a little bit of everything."
In other words, Chris Ault pioneered it, Kaepernick stole a job with it, and now Smith must run (some of) it.
Smith obviously won’t run a read-option pistol offense exactly like the man who took his job. He’s not nearly as skilled as a runner and has a propensity for concussions. Still, given that Kaepernick is a read-option master, how ironic that Smith is now following suit in Kansas City.
“(I'm) excited," Smith told NFL Network about Ault's hiring. "Playing with Colin and the little bit we were doing back there in San Fran, (I) got a little bit exposed to it. … So yeah, excited. It's a great addition.”
Sign Gaige Weddle to the class of 2033!
Eric Weddle, All-Pro NFL safety, former Utah All-American and convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is in the midst of a promotion tour of his book, “No excuses, No regrets.”
Authored by Deseret News journalist Trent Toone, this book tells Weddle’s life story. It recounts how a fastball to the face inspired Weddle to leave baseball behind, how Weddle’s mother nearly had a miscarriage, how Weddle is able to balance his faith, family, and football and how Weddle has since become an ambassador for the Utes throughout the football world and a role model to every member of the Utah football team.
But it’s Weddle’s son Gaige that stole all the thunder this week and should give hope to fans that Crimson blood runs deep through his veins too.
Ever the family man, Weddle brought his son with him to a guest appearance on San Diego’s NBC affiliate. At the end of the TV spot, Gaige impressed everyone with his strength as he began to do pushups on the desk upon which he was sitting during the interview.
Hopefully for Utah fans of the future, Gaige’s father is teaching him everything he knows about football.
Landon Hemsley is the sports content manager for DeseretNews.com and occasionally contributes to KSL.com. Email: lhemsley@deseretnews.com. Twitter.com/EarlOfHemsley
