Not older, better

Now that the Utes are in the Pac-10 — which includes mostly prestigious academic universities — I asked Ute athletics director Chris Hill if we need to start calling him “doctor.”
“When I first got hired, I was 37,” said Hill, “but I looked 27. (Then president) Chase Peterson said, ‘You have a doctorate, but people will be a little skeptical. So I’m going to call you Dr. Hill everywhere we go so you’ll seem older.’
“Now I want to tell everyone, ‘I’m not older, man, just call me Chris!’”

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If successful alumni is a measure, the Utes should be fine in the Pac-10. Listed among the alumni from Arizona State are Pepsi-Cola, Inc. former chairman Craig Weatherup and athletes Pat Tillman and Phil Mickelson. The University of Arizona lists film prducer Jerry Bruckheimer and former Surgeon General Richard Carmona. Oregon, naturally, touts Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Boston Marathon winner Alberto Salazar. USC: George Lucas, Neil Armstrong and Cheryl Miller. UCLA: Troy Aikman, Lisa Fernandez (softball) and L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Washington State: Edward R. Murrow, Roy Orbison and Paul Allen (Microsoft). Stanford: Tiger Woods, Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Day O’Connor and Sergey Brin (Google). Cal: Gregory Peck, Earl Warren and Terry McMillan (author). Washington: NFL quarterback Warren Moon.
Utah’s who’s who list: CBS-TV president John Nogawski, Adobe Systems co-founder John Warnock and J. Willard Marriott.