SALT LAKE CITY — Another year has come and gone, and there were several great storylines about the athletes and school officials that make up the University of Utah athletics department.

From longtime athletics director Chris Hill retiring, to the football program being named national champions, it was a busy year for Utah, with many great accomplishments along the way. Here’s a look at some of the biggest stories at Utah this year.

Chris Hill retires as university’s athletics director

Few stories can compare to the University of Utah saying goodbye to long-time athletics director Chris Hill. The New Jersey native gave 31 years to the university before calling it quits in March. At the time, he was the nation’s longest active tenured athletics director in the NCAA.

In Hill’s more than 30 years at the U., he built a winning program and fought hard to raise the status of the university's athletics. Through various successful coaching hires that included Rick Majerus, Larry Krystkowiak, Urban Meyer and Kyle Whittingham, among others, Hill pushed for Utah’s inclusion into a Power-Five conference.

“Chris Hill leaves a tremendous legacy at the University of Utah,” U. President Ruth V. Watkins said at the time. “Chris has embodied all the traits needed to build a successful program: a student advocate, a skilled negotiator, a solid administrator with a keen eye for talent, and excellent fundraiser and a passionate sports fan.”

Utah replaced Hill with Mark Harlan, the former athletics director at the University of South Florida, on June 1 — the day Hill officially left his career behind. Already, Harlan has brought a renewed vigor to the program as Utah transitioned into a new era of athletics.

Utah’s football national championship

No, Utah didn’t secretly earn a spot in the College Football Playoffs, but they did get some extra credit for a 2009 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl — a win that arguably propelled Utah into the Pac-12.

In August, the NCAA released its 2018 football record book and they awarded Utah a “national poll championship” for the 2008 season. Utah didn’t, obviously, win the national championship game — that was Florida — but because one “major selector” had the Utes ranked No. 1 at the end of the season, they were gifted a national championship.

The news of Utah’s newfound championship generated mixed reactions among college football fans, but it was still a fun little bit of preseason football news before the season started.

We’re all still waiting for Utah to hang that banner, though. Your move, Utah.

Football program named Pac-12 South Division champs

Coming into the 2018 season, there was a lot of talk about Utah being a contender for the South Division title. They had a deep roster with several returning guys, and there was enough turnover with the other South programs to give Utah a decent shot at the title.

And despite starting conference play 0-2, Utah became one of the hottest teams in the Pac-12 and had a well-balanced offense, defense and special teams. As a result, Utah blew out several conference opponents and appeared ready to easily claim the title. After all, they were in the driver’s seat and everything was going well.

But Arizona State made for a convoluted ending to the season by defeating Utah to claim a vital win in the South Division race. To make matters worse, Utah lost starting quarterback Tyler Huntley and starting running back Zack Moss to season-ending injuries; their title chances looked grim.

Behind redshirt freshman Jason Shelley, and with the help of Oregon defeating Arizona State, Utah closed out the regular season undefeated to claim its first-ever South Division title and an opportunity to face Washington in the Pac-12 Championship game. The championship game didn’t turn out as expected for the Utes, but history was made, and it set a blueprint for future program success.

Utah will look to close out the season with another bowl win as they take on Northwestern in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 31.

Runnin’ Utes make it to NIT Championship

Sure, it wasn’t the “Big Dance,” but it was still a great accomplishment for a basketball program that narrowly missed out on the NCAA Tournament without a bonafide star on the roster.

Utah’s run in the NIT started with wins over UC Davis, LSU and Saint Mary’s at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, which gave the team a spot in the Final Four at Madison Square Garden in New York City. A pair of 3-pointers and late-game free throws helped Utah claim a 69-64 win over Western Kentucky in the semifinals to earn a spot in the championship.

The championship game, though, was anything but what the program wanted. Utah found itself outmatched by the more physical Penn State team that routed Utah 82-66 to claim the NIT Championship. Still, it was a great accomplishment for a program looking to build on the momentum leading into the 2018-19 season.

Announced expansion of Rice-Eccles Stadium

It was the final legacy for outgoing AD Chris Hill and the first sign of success for newly-named AD Mark Harlan — an expansion of Rice-Eccles Stadium. Hill spent much of his final couple years with the program trying to secure the necessary research and funding to make expansion of the stadium a reality.

Harlan closed the deal by securing funding, and the university announced in November its plans for an $80 million expansion of the stadium. The expansion is expected to be completed by the 2021 season and will raise the stadium’s capacity from 45,807 to 51,444. The stadium will be fully enclosed and will also feature premium-box seating

At a press conference introducing the expansion plans, Harlan said $35 million of the $80 million will come from donations, and the rest will come from the profits made from its new premium seating.

Honorable mentions

• There’s no question that the Red Rocks are a dominant force in the world of women’s gymnastics. This year, they again made it to the Super Six, and landed in fifth place.
• Utah men’s basketball head coach Larry Krystkowiak was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the 2017-18 season.
• The women’s basketball team is off to a hot start and went undefeated in non-conference play, which is the second time in the Lynne Roberts era that they program has gone undefeated in non-conference play. They’ll open up Pac-12 play on the road at Colorado on Sunday, Dec. 30.

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