Future Utes Part II
Maybe the Utah-BYU football rivalry will get a little tamer next year when they’re not in the same conference.
But you might have a hard time convincing Max Hall of that.
The former BYU quarterback was on Jim Rome’s national radio show, Wednesday, and was asked about the nature of the rivalry.
“Man, I can’t go anywhere without it coming up in that state. It got so bad, for me, all just because it’s kind of personal,” said Hall. “It’s so heated, it’s unlike any other football game I’ve played in. It’s just a different atmosphere. So you have big time rivalries around the country, but it (Utah-BYU) has to be one of the most heated.”
At his annual State of the Utes luncheon with the media on Tuesday, Utah athletics director Chris Hill was asked whether he thought the possibility of discontinuing the series had made the schools appreciate one another more. For awhile, last summer, it seemed Utah and BYU would be unable to schedule future games. He was also asked about the behavior of fans.
“In a certain sense, if it diminishes the 5 percent that are nasty, at both places, it may not be a bad thing,” said Hill.
He went on to say the new directions the teams are taking might tone things down a bit.
“Hopefully it’s positive,” he said.
Hill said when they signed their two-year contract, recently, he and BYU athletics director Tom Holmoe didn’t know quite what to do. There has never been a need for a contract between the schools until now.
“We were the only two people in history who ever signed a contract (between Utah and BYU),” he said.
Several months ago, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall hinted at the possibility of the game being discontinued. But Hill note he has talked to numerous athletics directors and they seem to agree that all rivalries can get overcooked.
“I don’t know if it’s as bad (here) as people say it is,” said Hill.
He went on to say he wasn’t sure exactly what can be done about behavior by a small percentage of fans, and how much control to exert. “It’s a hard thing to get your arms around.”
Hill said he likes playing the basketball game against BYU at on-campus sites, but admitted others like the idea of playing it at EnergySolutions Arena. “It’s hard to give up that type of game at home.”