Utah Utes
From Hoopedia
The University of Utah (also The U or the U of U or the UU), located in Salt Lake City, is the flagship public research university in the state of Utah, and one of 10 institutions that make up the Utah System of Higher Education. It currently enrolls 22,661 undergraduate and 6,531 graduate students and has 3,971 faculty members.
The state-owned University is referred to colloquially as "the U." The university has a ferocious athletic and (some might say) cultural rivalry with its neighbor to the south, Brigham Young University (aka "the Y"), which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (members of which are commonly known as Mormons).
Men's basketball
The Runnin' Utes basketball team has always been the pride and joy of University of Utah athletics. The 9th winningest college basketball program of all time. The Utes have made 28 NCAA Division I Men's Tournament appearances, which ranks 76th all-time, while the Utes 10 outright conference championships is the 105th best in NCAA history. In 1916 the Utes won their first national championship, when they won the AAU tournament. The Utes are coached by Ray Giacoletti, who in his first season at Utah led the team to the NCAA Sweet 16 with an upset win over the Oklahoma Sooners.
Individual success has also been a big part of Utah athletics, as many successful players and coaches have been apart of the rich Utah tradition. In 2005 Andrew Bogut was selected #1 in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, making the University of Utah the only school in NCAA history to produce the #1 draft pick in both the NBA and NFL in the same year. Other notable players that have gone on to play in the NBA are Andre Miller, Keith Van Horn, Michael Doleac (who recently won the NBA championship with the Miami Heat), Danny Vranes and Tom Chambers. The Utes have also been coached by several top NCAA coaches, including Vadal Peterson -- the winningest coach in Utah basketball history, Hall of Fame coach Jack Gardner, Bill Foster and Rick Majerus.
The Utes have played in four Final Fours, winning the 1944 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. They also played for the 1998 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, losing to the Kentucky Wildcats.
Women's basketball
The program's most successful season came in the 2005-2006 campaign. The Lady Utes, who finished in 2nd place in the Mountain West Conference, won the conference tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time in school history. After getting by Middle Tennessee in the first round of the 2006 Women's NCAA Tournament, the Lady Utes surprised the 4th seeded Arizona State Sun Devils to advance to the Sweet 16 for only the second time in school history. There the Lady Utes faced 8th seeded Boston College and gutted out a 3 point win, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. Making the regional finals, the Lady Utes became the first team in Mountain West Conference history to ever do so. In doing so, the Lady Utes would go on to play 2nd seeded, and eventual national champion, Maryland. The game went into OT, but Maryland prevailed and the Utes amazing run came to an end.
In the 2006 WNBA Draft Lady Ute guard Shona Thorburn was selected by Minnesota Lynx with the 7th pick and Kim Smith, a forward for the Lady Utes, was selected 13th overall by the Sacramento Monarchs.
