Utes Bulletin: Things Happening In Utah Athletics (Week Of 2/13/23)

SALT LAKE CITY – With football on a bit of a hiatus till spring ball kicks off and several of the smaller sports in full-swing and having success, we thought a one-stop-shop for little tidbits of Utah Athletics information might be helpful for you, the fan, with the Utes Bulletin.

If you missed any of the highlights from the previous week, you can review that here.

Without further ado, here is this week’s Utes Bulletin that includes ranking updates, upcoming events for the week, and important dates to keep track of among other things of interest concerning Utah Athletics for the week of 2/13/23.

𝗨𝘁𝗮𝗵 𝗔𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸

🏌🏻‍♂️ @UtesGolf
🏀 @UtahMBB
🥎 @Utah_Softball
⚾️ @utahbaseball
🎾 @UteWomensTennis
🏀 @UTAHWBB
🏃‍♀️ @Utah_trackfield
🥍 @UtahLacrosse
🎾 @UtahTennis

🎟️ https://t.co/pL7bwJAt8N#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/VADBDwUgdy

— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) February 13, 2023

Utah Men/Women’s Basketball & Gymnastics Head To Arizona During NBA All-Star Weekend

The “Big Three” spring sports (men and women’s basketball and gymnastics) will all be competing in Arizona a week removed from Super Bowl this weekend due to the NBA All-Star week holding some of their events at the Huntsman Center.

Utah Men’s Basketball Schedule

The Runnin’ Utes will tipoff the Utah “Arizona Tour” first in the much-anticipated rematch against No. 8 Arizona on Thursday, February 16. Tipoff is set for 8:00 pm MT and can be viewed on Pac-12 Network.

Back in December, the Utes shocked everyone by beating No. 4 Arizona at the Huntsman Center a day before Utah football beat No. 4 USC for the Pac-12 Championship. Fun fact: Utah is the only school to have beaten two No. 4 ranked teams back-to-back in different sports.

Utah 72 – Colorado 63

🎥 HIGHLIGHTS 🎥@UtahMBB | #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/LfMThj3mhF

— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) February 12, 2023

Naturally, the Wildcats will be looking for some revenge at home and the Utes will be wanting to keep the momentum they’ve gained over the past two games against Cal and Colorado going.

Utah men’s basketball will finish their time in Arizona against ASU on Saturday, February 18. Tipoff for that game is 4:00 pm MT and also viewable on Pac-12 Network.

Utah Women’s Basketball Schedule

The recently minted No. 4 Utah women’s basketball team appear to be on a collision course with No. 3 Stanford for the regular season Pac-12 Title as they both sit tied for first right now but need to handle business in Arizona this weekend. Utah’s confidence level is through the roof with big wins over Washington and Washington State last weekend that helped move them up the latest AP Top 25 Poll.

.@UTAHWBB made a pretty good jump this week to No. 4. #Herstory continuing to be made up on the hill.#GoUtes #UteProud https://t.co/7kxe2fY4Gm

— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) February 13, 2023

Like the men, the women will also start with the No. 18 Arizona Wildcats which has some potential to be exciting as well looking back on what happened when the two teams met in Salt Lake City. Their game is set for Friday, February 17 with a 7:00 pm MT tip. Utah will then wrap things up against ASU on Sunday, February 19 with a 12:00 pm MT tip. Both games can be viewed on the Pac-12 Network.

Utah Gymnastics Schedule

The Red Rocks will be on the road once more rounding out the Utes’ time in Arizona. Utah will be competing against Arizona State on Monday, February 20 with a 1:00 pm MT start time.

Utah gymnastics continues to be ranked No. 4 in the country this week after battling through Grace McCallum’s unexpected injury during the Metroplex Challenge last weekend. The ladies come in at No. 7 on floor, No.6 on bars, No. 4 on vault, and No. 1 on beam.

𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞 𝟲 ⇨ 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱 #𝟰

Event Rankings ⤵️
Vault: 4th
Bars: 6th
Beam: 1st
Floor: 7th#trUSt pic.twitter.com/s2uJEuaFbj

— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) February 13, 2023

Beam anchor Maile O’Keefe notched back-to-back perfect 10’s on the event in front of Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe’s families. O’Keefe and Jaeden Rucker got to meet the families after the Metroplex Challenge. (Both O’Keefe and Rucker have dedicated routines to the two football players who tragically died nine months apart.)

All the feels.#GoUtes #trUSt https://t.co/s6q3ygj9Rd

— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) February 12, 2023

Utah Lacrosse

Utah lacrosse is off and going having now completed two matches in the early 2023 season. The Utes started on the road against Denver two weekends ago that resulted in a 12-4 loss.

Utah regrouped at home at Rice-Eccles Stadium over the weekend against Marquette in a high-scoring and physical affair that they won, 18-16. In the process, attacker Tyler Bradbury set a new school record in career points (110) for the fledgling program.

‼️LIGHT THE U‼️

Utes defeat Marquette 18-16 to improve to 1-1 on the season 🥍🥍🥍#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/xwSwCbUFqA

— Utah Lacrosse (@UtahLacrosse) February 11, 2023

Up next the Utes will be hosting Vermont at Zion’s Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. Faceoff is set for 1:00 pm MT and can be streamed.

Utah Softball Coach, Amy Hogue Reaches Big Milestone

Utah softball got their season underway on the road last weekend against UC San Diego and swept the Tritons for a 5-0 start.

However, perhaps the biggest news of the series was longtime former player turned head coach, Amy Hogue notching her 400th win as the head coach and the 600th win of her entire career.

Today was another special day for our head coach! Please help us congratulate coach Amy Hogue on earning her 600th career victory!!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/PUI9pBdgEq

— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) February 12, 2023

This week the Utes will be on the road again for the Tiger Classic, taking place February 17-19 in Baton Rouge, La. Utah starts the tournament at 1:30 p.m. MT against Central Arkansas.

Utah Football News

Despite being in the offseason, some surprising noise has been swirling around the Utah football team.

Early last week, offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig’s name was linked as a potential candidate for Notre Dame’s open OC job after Tommy Rees headed to Alabama. That noise cooled pretty quickly when it looked like the Irish had found their guy in Collin Klein- that is until he decided to stay with Kansas State as their offensive coordinator.

Ludwig’s name immediately shot back up the list for Notre Dame, so much so they flew him out to South Bend Friday evening for a two-day interview. Early reports are that Ludwig really impressed but as far as what he’s going to choose to do remains to be seen.

We will continue to monitor this story and have an update one way or the other when it becomes available.

Combine Utes

Four Utes have been invited to participate in the upcoming NFL Combine as part of the 2023 NFL Draft process. Tavion Thomas, Dalton Kincaid, Braeden Daniels and Clark Phillips III will all be on hand to showcase what they can do on the field in drills as well as demonstrate the kind of individuals they are off it for all 32 teams.

𝗡𝗙𝗟 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 ☑️ https://t.co/1BJE8ZcP8z pic.twitter.com/hVth75gsBq

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) February 9, 2023

Super Bowl Utes

Alex Whittingham is a Super Bowl Champion times two now. The quality control defensive coach won his second Super Bowl while on staff with Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night in Arizona.

Congratulations @alexwutangham 💍🏆 https://t.co/9SPIkTIrGI

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) February 13, 2023

On the other side of the gridiron, news started circulating about Philly quarterback coach Brian Johnson’s future and it doesn’t sound too bad. The rising coaching star appears to be slated as the Eagles’ next offensive coordinator. Current Philly OC Shane Steichen has been tied to becoming the Indianapolis Colts’ next head coach and if that move does come to fruition, Johnson is likely due the big promotion.

Another former Ute, Britain Covey made his first Super Bowl appearance as a rookie returning a punt and didn’t disappoint. Covey was thisclose to breaking off what turned out to be a 27-yard punt return. A hair faster and he likely would have been home free.

Another Week, More “Wait And See” On Pac-12 Front

The future of the Pac-12 (or lack thereof depending on who you ask) was once again a big topic of discussion last week, but with little results per usual.

Last Wednesday commissioner George Kliavkoff was spotted rubbing elbows with SMU at their basketball game. Most believe this was a trip to look into possibly adding the Mustangs to the Pac-12 once USC and UCLA take off to the Big Ten in 2024. 

So far not much else has been reported from the trip but it at least did provide us with some of the most tangible evidence to-date as to what may be going on with Pac-12 TV rights negotiations and where the conference may be headed.

We will continue to monitor this story and provide updates as they become available.

Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @BodkinKSLsports

Follow @bodkinkslsports