Where are our out-of-state fan hotspots?

[OffensiveLineEnthusiast]

I’m guessing there would be more Ute fans in the stadium if Utah visited Arizona State than if Utah visited Auburn. Generally, where can you find lots of alumni and where can you find very few? Which out-of-conference games should the admin be prioritizing to maximize Ute fans that can attend?

Obviously, big cities in the West will be good for us. Any non-obvious ones?

[HeyyyUguyyys]

Not trying to be a dick, but do we have hotspots? I think teams like Notre Dame or even BYU have hot spots, but Utah?

[Roy Rangum]

I think HeyyyUguyyys is mostly right. I’ve lived in Seattle, the Bronx, outside of Philadelphia, and Memphis, and while there was typically a fellow Utah fan or two I could find, it was always a small group.

I think the only 2 things that would drive up numbers in a given area outside of Utah are: 1) areas where outdoor recreation are popular (as that’s a primary reason someone that grew up out of state is drawn to the U, and they will likely choose to live in areas with similar opportunities after), and 2) areas that have an above average LDS population (as a sizable portion of Utah alumni are LDS).

As time goes on, I think the influence of #2 will slowly decrease while the influence of #1 will slowly increase. But for the most part, I think the fanbase isn’t all that big outside of Utah.

[Rick]

Sure we have hotspots – but largely in the West. There are significant Utah alums in LA, Orange County and San Francisco. Phoenix follows with the rest of the Western cities being a little less – Denver, Las Vegas, Boise and Portland.

Washington D.C. is right behind LA and Orange County.

I’d love to see football and basketball focus on out of conference games with the old PAC-12 powers given the alumni base. In basketball, I’ve always wished we’d try and get Georgetown, Maryland, Virginia and St. John’s to play us. We’d get significant support from Alums. Obviously, Maryland and Virginia would be good football teams to schedule as well.

[D T]

I’m down here in Phoenix & Phoenix Metro has a size-able U alumni base.

Definitely more zoobs down here, but our kind increases every year.

[UteBoysDad]

I would think that as more students from other states go to the U, graduate and (mostly) go back to their home states, that will create those hotspots. Lots of recent admits and graduates are from California, for example.

[AlohaUte]

When I lived in York, PA the LDS Ward i was in had more Ute fans than BYU. Only place I’ve ever lived where that was the case.

[AZUTE]

California Nevada Arizona and Idaho all have large alumni groups. There are pockets in Texas and Florida due to recruiting

[GLoo]

Montanan checking in. I know there are two people on my street whose kids are attending Utah right now. considering how small we are, that feels significant.

[NashvilleUte]

I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a hotspot, but there’s a decent amount of at least LDS Utah alumni in my area south of Nashville TN. Nothing like the TDS alumni, but more than I expected. I was actually driving to work this morning and ended up behind a car with an Utah Alumni license plate holder. I pulled up next to them and didn’t recognize them though.
I’d live the Utes to visit Tennessee, but I doubt the Utah fan turnout would be very substantial…

[Author]

Posts