New Whittingham contract momentous
 

The new Whittingham contract is of enormous significance. Utah has gone to two BCS games in five years, the first non-BCS team to go to two. The first time it beat the Big East champioin 35-7, and now it will play a truly elite team, Alabama, in the SUGAR BOWL. In the past six years Utah has three MWC titles, has won 80 percent of its games, has a 10-3 record against BCS teams, and Utah has won seven bowl games in a row. Utah is 20-1 in its last 21 games, and has won 13 in a row.

Now Utah has a world class coach who wants to stay at Utah, and Utah has raised the funds to pay him a market salary per a long term contract. A fitting capstone! Utah's program and tradition will now really begin to pull away from the rest of the conference. Watch for a surge in recruiting. Early returns already suggest the best Utah recruiting class ever, and they're still beating the bushes and anticipation of 2/4/09.

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705273572,00.html

1.2 million per year. That's nothing for BCS, but might put him on top in the MWC.

Really, what Utah needs is a fan base that is as good as its team and coach.

Frankly, I'm surprised that there wasn't a stronger effort to try and lure Kyle away, although maybe they thought there would be no way he would leave his team before the BCS game.

I agree. But as long as there are Mormons who don't understand that you can be a Ute fan and be a devout member of the LDS Church, Utah's fanbase will be limited.

Well, as long as Utah, as an institution, positions itself as a cultural counterweight to the influence of the LDS church, there can be no full embrace of Utah by Intermountain Mormons.

Does the University of Utah really do that? Or is that just the perception of too many ignorant Intermountain Mormons?

As a state school, it can't promote itself as being a church school, but there is a large percentage of students that are LDS at Utah. There is also the LDS student association that is on campus and the LDS Institute of Religion.

Other than the Honor Code, I'm not aware of anything the U can't offer a Mormon that BYU can.

A large part of what you say is true, but you ignore the hostile staff segment of the U. That exists as well. That element will prevent a full embrace by local members. It's also part of its appeal, it does not fully embrace the Church, so in a way it courts that element.

Positions itself? LOL. It just is. That's like saying a lion positions itself as a counterweight to a zebra. The U of U is a counterweight to the LDS Church at a cellular level. Any self-respecting university is an enemy of an institution that hates intellectuals, history, science, gays and female professional classes. That hates empiricism and truth for truth's sake. The U of U will always be enemy no. 1 of the LDS church.

To the extent that people do not get hired at the Univ. of Utah simply because they are Mormon, no matter what their personal beliefs on history, science, gay, etc. are, that will make many Mormons look at the institution dimly.

I doubt that's happened. Somone is whining. Like any strong university Utah tries to avoid insularity and to hire from schools with more highly regarded programs. As at most any school besides Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford (and maybe BYU) U of U would rather not hire its own graduates. I'm sure BYU graduates have no special cache.

Articles like this are par for the course at the Univ. of Utah it seems:
http://www.rickross.com/reference/mormon/mormon141.html