Utah

UVU getting involved in conference realignment

Published

5 months ago

June 4, 2025

UVU getting involved in conference realignment

Conference realignment has reared itself again in Utah. This time, it is Utah Valley University that is on the move.

The Big West Conference announced Wednesday morning that the Wolverines will officially join the conference in 2026-27, leaving behind the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). UVU will join the Big West as a full member. It is a reunion of sorts, as UVU was a member of the Big West from 1978 to 2005.

“We are thrilled to welcome Utah Valley University to The Big West,” Big West commissioner Dan Butterly said in a statement. “UVU brings a tradition of competitive excellence and a rapidly growing athletic program that aligns perfectly with our membership and vision for the future. Their addition expands our geographic footprint into a vibrant and strategically significant region, while elevating the level of competition across the board. We look forward to the energy and excitement the Wolverines will bring to The Big West.”

UVU, which sponsors 14 Division 1 sports, will compete in the Big West in:

Baseball.
Men’s basketball.
Women’s basketball.
Men’s cross country.
Women’s cross country.
Men’s golf.
Women’s golf.
Men’s soccer.
Women’s soccer.
Softball.
Men’s track and field.
Women’s track & field.
Women’s volleyball.

Wrestling will continue to be a part of the Big 12 conference.

“Utah Valley University is proud to be part of The Big West. This marks an important milestone for the university, our 47,000 students, 125,000 alumni, and nearly 400 student-athletes,” UVU president Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez said in a statement “We look forward to competing and growing in a new and dynamic environment, and learning from our peers in The Big West.”

Added UVU athletic director Dr. Jared Sumsion: “The Big West is an outstanding conference with a proud history of success at the highest levels of Division I competition. We are excited to take on this new challenge and appreciate The Big West’s confidence in our university and athletic program.”

The addition of UVU brings Big West membership up to 11. UVU rejoining the league can be traced back directly to the decisions of Texas and Oklahoma to leave the Big 12 for the SEC.

Here’s the turn of the events that led to UVU’s return to the Big West:

Texas and Oklahoma leave the Big 12 for the SEC.
USC and UCLA leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten.
BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF join the Big 12 (the latter three defecting from the American Athletic Conference).
Oregon and Washington leave the Pac-12 and join the Big Ten.
Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah leave the Pac-12 and join the Big 12.
Cal and Stanford leave the Pac-12 and join the ACC.
Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State announce that they are leaving the Mountain West Conference to remake the Pac-12 alongside Oregon State and Washington State.
The Mountain West adds Hawaii and UC-Davis (previously Big West Conference schools) as full-time members in wake of defections to the Pac-12.
UVU joins the Big West.

Washington County native Carston Herman delivers a pitch during Utah Valley University’s 2025 baseball season. | Utah Valley University

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Utah

Jazz G Isaiah Collier Nearing Season Debut After Injury

Published

11 hours ago

November 3, 2025

Press Room

Jazz G Isaiah Collier Nearing Season Debut After Injury

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Utah

Koki Riley: What to do with Miami, and why Utah made a leap in AP Top-25 Poll after Week 10

Published

1 day ago

November 2, 2025

Press Room

Koki Riley: What to do with Miami, and why Utah made a leap in AP Top-25 Poll after Week 10

On Thursday, Awful Announcing — a blog dedicated to covering sports media news nationally — pondered whether I was the best or worst AP poll voter.

I don’t have a clue which side of the spectrum I land on, but I appreciate the fact that there’s at least one person who is listening to the reasoning behind my selections. I always strive to provide fair and honest analysis, even if it’s extreme or unique in comparison to the consensus.

So with that said, let’s break down my poll after Week 10.

My AP Top-25 poll after Week 10

1. Indiana, 2. Texas A&M, 3. Ohio State, 4. Alabama, 5. Georgia, 6. Texas Tech, 7. Notre Dame, 8. Ole Miss, 9. BYU, 10. Oregon, 11. Louisville, 12. Oklahoma, 13. Utah, 14. Miami, 15. Southern Cal, 16. Texas, 17. Missouri, 18. Vanderbilt, 19. Michigan, 20. Washington, 21. Tennessee, 22. Illinois, 23. Virginia, 24. Georgia Tech, 25. Iowa

Just missed: Houston, TCU, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati

What I did with Miami

It felt like dropping Miami to No. 14 in my poll wasn’t enough after the Hurricanes’ loss to SMU. The loss means Miami is just 2-2 in ACC play and the Ponies already had three defeats heading into this week, including two losses to middling at best teams in Baylor and Wake Forest.

But this loss wasn’t as devastating as it may have seemed on the surface. SMU still only has one defeat in conference play, and Miami’s only other loss comes to a Louisville team that I have at No. 11 in my poll.

It seems like Miami’s College Football Playoff hopes are done, but the Hurricanes still have a win over a top-10 team (Notre Dame) and dominated a pretty good South Florida team. The Notre Dame win kept Miami ahead of Texas and USC. Neither team holds a win that impressive, and they have flaws in their own right.

Texas earned a huge win over Vanderbilt this week and beat Oklahoma, but also lost to Florida and probably should’ve fallen to lowly Kentucky and Mississippi State. USC snuck past Nebraska on the road this week and beat Michigan, but the Trojans — unlike Miami — lost to the Irish.

Sliding up to No. 6 in Miami’s place was Texas Tech after the Red Raiders dominated another Big 12 team (Kansas State) on Saturday. Besides one loss with the backup quarterback on the road, Tech has been unstoppable.

I prefer the Red Raiders over Notre Dame, given that the Irish needed a late touchdown to pull away from a woeful Boston College team this weekend and have a weaker strength of record, according to ESPN.

Utah’s rise

Utah’s lack of stellar play at quarterback still makes me nervous, but its resume has become impossible to ignore at this point.

When they haven’t lost, the Utes have blown everyone out, including this weekend when they crushed Cincinnati 45-14 at home. It was the sort of statement victory they needed, given that their best win before this week was over Sam Leavitt-less ASU at home.

The lopsided wins, combined with the fact that its only defeats came to top-10 teams in my poll, were why the Utes made a meteoric rise in my rankings this week.

Other notes

Virginia is at No. 12 in the overall poll, but is only 24th in my poll for a couple of different reasons. The Cavaliers have a great overtime win over Louisville, but close wins over North Carolina, Florida State and Washington State, and a loss to NC State make me question what their actual quality is.

Oddly enough, the team below them in my poll also lost to NC State this week. I’ve consistently been lower on Georgia Tech because of the lack of competition it’s faced to this point, despite being undefeated.

The Yellow Jackets still made my poll because beating Duke on the road isn’t easy, and an 8-1 record for a Power Four conference team is still pretty good. They’ll be tested to end the year as they face Pittsburgh and Georgia to finish the season.

Iowa was the last team out a week ago, but the Hawkeyes are in this week despite not playing because Houston and Cincinnati lost. Iowa lacks a strong win, and the Iowa State loss doesn’t look great, but the Hawkeyes have managed to be the only team that’s lost to Indiana by single digits.

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21-year-old University of Utah student wins $125K in ESPN kicking contest

Published

2 days ago

November 1, 2025

Press Room

21-year-old University of Utah student wins 5K in ESPN kicking contest

SALT LAKE CITY — A 21-year-old University of Utah senior is $125,000 richer after kicking a 33-yard field goal for Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest during ESPN’s “College GameDay” Saturday.

The challenge is part of the “College GameDay” experience that has taken over many college campuses in anticipation of big games, like the one Saturday night against the Cincinnati Bearcats. The challenge itself was started by former NFL punter Pat McAfee to prove that scoring a field goal is much harder than it looks. Upward of $1 million is put on the line, much of it going to charity, and another portion going to the kickers themselves.

Jonah Knubel was among the hundreds of people who camped overnight, hoping that his ticket would be drawn. As chance would have it, his ticket was not drawn. But, as circumstance would have it, he would be the one to perform the challenge.

“My ticket was not called for the contest, but the guy who won the raffle looked over and said, ‘I’m not kicking this. I’m way too nervous. I don’t know how to kick,” Knuble recalled. “I said, ‘Hello! I’ll kick it for you, because I have experience kicking.’”

Knubel’s experience came from playing on the Jordan High School football team as a kicker his senior year, where he earned All-Region honors.

After speaking with the powers that be, it was agreed that Knubel would attempt the 33-yard kick, but the $1 million prize money would be split between him and the ticket holder. Added to the wager was a prediction by McAfee himself, who said that if Knubel made it, Utah would be the sure winner of tonight’s game.

“It kind of felt like a fever dream,” Knubel said. “Getting to high-five everyone, being on TV and getting to meet everyone was honestly so amazing. And when the kick finally came and I missed the first attempt, I was absolutely crushed because I knew I could make it pretty easily.”

In a clutch move, a timeout was called, and Knubel was awarded another kick. This time, the prize money was $500,000, where he would split $250,000 with the ticket holder and the other $250,000 going to a local charity.

His high school kicking experience kicked in, and he scored big. Not only that, but Knubel became the second to win the challenge this year out of 10 challenges, and one of seven who have won since it began in 2023.

After a lot of thought (and a nap), Knubel, a finance major, told KSL.com that he plans on “wisely” spending his winnings.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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