HERE’S UTAH
U TA H
GYMN A S T I C S
H E R E ’ S U TA H
Salt Lake City
Steve Greenwood
THE BEST CITY
• Fi h-best City for the Next Decade,
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine
• Third-Best Best City for Jobs,
Forbes Magazine
• 237 days of sunshine per year
• 15 percent average humidity
• Host city for the 2002 Winter Olympics
ENTERTAINMENT
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•
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Nine ski resorts within an hour’s drive
Home to the Sundance Film Fes val
Five professional sports franchises
Symphony, opera, theater and dance
SALT LAKE INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
• Five minutes from downtown
• Ranked third-best in the U.S. by
Zagat.com
• 23rd-busiest airport in the U.S.
• Delta Airlines hub
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M E D I A
Salt Lake City, home to the University of Utah
and the state’s capital city, offers an unrivaled
blend of metropolitan life and recreational
opportunities. With 186,440 residents, Salt
Lake City is the largest city in the state and its
metro population of 1,124,197 ranks in the
top 50 in the United States. Yet Salt Lake City
maintains the charm of a small western city.
Employment opportuni es, culture,
quality of life and recrea on are some of the
reasons why Salt Lake City is consistently
named one of the na on’s best ci es. In the
June 2010 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
Magazine, Salt Lake City was No. 5 on its list
of the “10 Best Ci es for the Next Decade.”
Forbes Magazine ranked Salt Lake City the
third-best big city for jobs and fourth-best city
for tech jobs in May 2012. The magazine also
recognized Utah as the “Best State for Business
and Careers” for the second straight year in
2011. Men’s Fitness magazine named Salt Lake
the “Fi est City in the Na on” in 2009.
Nestled between the Wasatch and
Oquirrh Mountain ranges and the Great Salt
Lake, the city is located in one of the most
picturesque places on earth. The lowest point
within city boundaries is 4,210 feet near the
Great Salt Lake, and the highest is Grandview
Peak at 9,410 feet. The Great Salt Lake (48
miles wide and 90 miles long) is the world’s
second largest saltwater lake and the largest
lake in the western United States.
G U I D E
The city is the cultural, financial,
educa onal, technological, commercial and
communica ons hub of the Intermountain
West. Utah was named the most
technologically advanced state in the 2008
Digital States Survey and rated as one of
the top 10 most socially networked ci es in
America. Salt Lake is also home to worldrenowned medical and technology industries.
Cultural and ethnic ac vi es flourish
in Salt Lake City and its vibrant downtown
features dining, shopping, music and ethnic
fes vals, art galleries, professional symphony,
opera, theater and dance.
The annual Sundance Film Fes val, which
is the largest independent film fes val in
the U.S., a racts movie stars, celebri es and
thousands of film buffs to the area every year.
According to P3/ProducƟon Update Magazine,
Utah is one of the “10 Best States in the Na on
for Film.”
Professional sports franchises in Salt Lake
City include the Utah Jazz (NBA), Real Salt Lake
(Major League Soccer), Salt Lake Bees (AAA
baseball), Utah Blaze (Arena Football) and Utah
Grizzlies (East Coast Hockey League).
H E R E ’ S U TA H
UTAH
GYM N ASTIC S
The University of Utah
Ranked among the top 100 universities in the
world, the University of Utah is renowned for
its research expertise, academic performance
and athletic prowess. The U., which has earned
a top-tier ranking from the Academic Ranking
of World Universities for eight consecutive
years, became a member of the Pac-12
Conference on July 1, 2011.
Founded in 1850, the University of Utah
encompasses 1,500 acres in the foothills of
the towering Wasatch Mountains. Located just
minutes from downtown Salt Lake City and
world-class ski resorts, its campus combines an
eclec c mix of teaching and research facili es
in a park-like se ng of trees, fountains,
flowering malls and pedestrian walkways with
incomparable views of the Salt Lake valley.
Home to a student popula on of over
30,000, the U. offers some 100 undergraduate
and 90 graduate majors. Many of the U.’s
programs are na onally ranked, including law,
pharmacy, architecture, business, engineering
and dance. Students come from all 50 states
and many foreign countries.
Utah ranks among the top public
research universi es in the na on, with
par cular dis nc on in medicine, gene cs
and engineering. In 2009-10, the University
received a record-se ng $451 million in
external funding for research. University of
Utah gene cist Mario R. Capecchi, one of many
acclaimed faculty members, received the 2007
Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for his
work on gene targe ng.
In each of the past two years, the
University has led the na on in the number
of spin-off companies started with University-
developed research or technology. The U. has
launched 125 new startups over the past six
years. The U. was honored at the 2012 Utah
Genius Awards for most U.S. patents of any
company (49), and faculty member Stephen
Jacobsen of the Department of Mechanical
Engineering won the life me achievement
award.
In 2010, University of Utah Health Care
was ranked No. 1 in quality in the na on
among academic medical centers. The Eccles
Ins tute of Human Gene cs is one of several
innova ve medical programs at the U. Others
include the Huntsman Cancer Ins tute, the
Moran Eye Center and the Brain Ins tute. The
U.’s David Eccles School of Business has joined
the U.S. News & World Report list of the top 10
most-popular business schools in the na on.
The U. is also noted for its work in
technology and computer sciences. The
University’s School of Compu ng was founded
in 1965, and began a pioneering legacy in
computer graphics and visualiza on that
con nues today.
A lively residen al living experience is
provided in the beau ful Heritage Commons,
which served as the Athletes Village for the
2002 Olympic Winter Games. Utah students
enjoy unparalleled recrea onal ac vi es,
from skiing and snowboarding at any of nine
world-class resorts in nearby canyons, to
backpacking, mountain biking, fly fishing and
river running.
The U.’s loca on in the largest city in the
Intermountain West, with a metro popula on
of over one million, allows for an urban
experience in a spectacular natural se ng. The
U. is home to the state’s natural history and
fine arts museums, and well as the Pioneer
Theatre Company.
SNAPSHOT OF THE U.
Founded in 1850
Research I University
Top 100 world ranking
190 majors (undergraduate/graduate)
2007 Nobel Prize winner Mario Cappechi
TOP 25 IN RESEARCH
Utah ranks among the top 25 public
research universi es in the na on, with
par cular dis nc on in medicine, gene cs
and engineering.
W W W . U T A H U T E S . C O M
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U TA H
GYMN A S T I C S
H E R E ’ S U TA H
Jon M. Huntsman Center
The most recognizable college gymnastics
facility in the country, Utah’s Jon M. Huntsman
Center has showcased more major collegiate
gymnastics meets than any other venue.
The Huntsman Center has hosted a record
nine na onal championships—one AIAW and
eight NCAA Championships: 1981 (AIAW), 1982,
1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1999 and 2007.
Other gymnas cs events making Huntsman
Center stops include the 1979 USGF World
Championships Trials, the 1980 and ’82
Championships of the USA, the 1993 World
University Games Trials and 12 NCAA regional
championships (most recently in 2012).
Opened in 1969 on the southeast side of
campus (eleva on 4,600 feet), the 15,000-seat
Huntsman Center is s ll in pris ne condi on.
Also calling the Huntsman Center home are
the Ute men’s and women’s basketball teams.
The Huntsman Center ranks third among the
na on’s arenas for most NCAA Men’s Basketball
Tournament games held (81). The most famous
NCAA Tournament game of all me—the
1979 NCAA Championship game starring Larry
Bird and Magic Johnson—was played in the
Huntsman Center.
UTES ROCK THE HOUSE!
TOP HUNTSMAN CENTER CROWDS
Fan-tasƟc
Every NCAA gymnas cs a endance record
has been set in the Jon M. Huntsman Center,
including the most people ever to watch a
collegiate gymnas cs meet (15,558) and highest
season a endance average (14,352). Utah
gymnas cs has a racted 10 crowds in excess of
15,000 and 22 crowds of 14,000 or more.
1. 15,558* vs. Florida, 3-4-11
2. 15,552 vs. Georgia, 1-22-10
3. 15,447 vs. BYU, 3-28-08
4. 15,310 vs. BYU, 1-27-12
5. 15,238 vs. Cal State-Fullerton, 2-11-91
6. 15,168 vs. Boise State/Washington, 3-6-93
7. 15,082 vs. SUU/BYU/TWU, 2-6-09
8. 15,080 vs. Florida, 3-13-09
9. 15,072 vs. BYU/USU/SUU, 1-20-92
10. 15,030 vs. BYU, 3-26-10
11. 14,978 vs. Penn State, 3-9-92
12. 14,926 vs. Georgia, 2-3-12
13. 14,756 vs. Stanford 2-24-12
14. 14,726 vs. Nebraska, 3-5-10
15. 14,679 vs. BYU, 1-21-94
*NCAA Record
AƩendance Champs
Utah has won 28 of the last 31 gymnas cs
a endance championships. The Utes have
averaged over 11,000 fans a meet since 1992
and almost 14,000 a meet for the past four
seasons.
Home Court Advantage
Utah once went 24 years and 170 meets (Feb.
20, 1979 through Mar. 23, 2002) without losing
a dual meet compe on. It is the longest
home win streak by any NCAA sport. Including
postseason compe on, the Utes have won
94% of their home meets, with an all- me home
record of 412-26!
Championship Central
The Jon M. Huntsman Center has hosted nine
na onal gymnas cs championships—more any
other venue—and 12 regional championships.
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M E D I A
G U I D E
HUNTSMAN HIGHLIGHTS
Crowds in Excess of 15,000: 10
Crowds in Excess of 14,000: 22
Average from 2009-2012: 13,982
Average since 1992-2012: 11,293
Average since 1984-2012: 10,000