Month: October 2025

Preston Summerhays was destined to go into the family business — the golf business.

By the time Summerhays was 3 years old, he wielded a cut-down driver and putter, and his father would bring a loaf of bread and let him ride around with him on the cart as he practiced all day.

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“Ever since I was 10, I wanted to play professional golf,” he said.

Summerhays, 23, is playing this week on a sponsor exemption at the PGA Tour’s Bank of Utah Championship at Black Desert Resort in Ivins, Utah, as he makes his way in the pro ranks. Golf is a way of life for the Summerhays family, who are Utah golf royalty. His father, Boyd, played 11 years as a professional, including making it all the way to the PGA Tour in 2003. Injuries sidetracked his career, but he became a swing coach and worked for several years with tour pros such as Tony Finau, Wyndham Clark and Talor Gooch.

Preston’s great-grandfather, Pres, was head coach at the University of Utah and his great-grandmother, Lynn, was president of the Utah Junior Golf Association. His great uncle, Bruce, won three times on the PGA Tour Champions and was named coach of the year in the Pac-12 during a stint at Stanford. His uncle, Daniel, won on the Korn Ferry Tour as an amateur and played on and off on the PGA Tour since 2011, while his cousin, Carrie, played on the LPGA Tour and is the head women’s golf coach at Brigham Young University, and another cousin, Joe, won the Utah Section PGA Professional Championship and a host of state tournaments and played in a couple PGA Championships.

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Preston is carrying on the family legacy in the Beehive state. Raised in Farmington, Utah, he twice won the Utah Amateur, including at age 15 to become the youngest champion in tournament history. He also won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2019, was named a first-team All-American at Arizona State University and represented the United States at the Junior Presidents Cup, Arnold Palmer Cup and Walker Cup. He finished seventh in the PGA Tour University ranking, which earned him status on the Korn Ferry Tour when he turned pro in June and extends through the 2026 season.

“It’s been a great learning opportunity for me to get those starts and have somewhere to play and just learn more about myself and more about the game week to week,” he said.

Five months into making his dream a reality, Summerhays was asked what he’s learned so far. “I learned that I love it a lot more than I thought,” he answered. “I love every single aspect of it. I love the travel. I love the prep for tournaments. I love the practice rounds. I love hanging out with my buddies on the road.”

The biggest surprise so far from being in the play-for-pay ranks.

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“How much free time I have. It’s so great. I mean, I don’t have homework. I don’t have, you know, mandatory workouts. It’s nice,” he said. “I’m able to set my own schedule, practice when I want, able to recover how I want. You know, yeah, just really be able to take charge of my own career.”

Summerhays made 11 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour this summer, registering two T-7 finishes, including at the Utah Championship. His caddies have included former teammates, sister Grace, younger brother Cam and his dad, who will be on the bag this week.

“If there’s any week to play well,” Preston said, “it’s the week of a sponsor’s exemption on the PGA Tour.”

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Newly-minted pro Preston Summerhays could be the best in famous family

Utah Judge Dianna Gibson will hear two days of arguments starting Thursday morning over whether a new congressional map adopted by Republican legislators meets the standards of the voter-passed Better Boundaries initiative or if it is a partisan gerrymander and should be thrown out.

The outcome will determine whether voters will cast their ballots next year in four districts that favor GOP candidates or if there will be at least one district that could be won by a Democrat.

To get there, Gibson, a 3rd District Court judge, will have to wade through hundreds of pages of expert reports, competing computer algorithms, complicated statistical formulas, and hours of testimony in which experts for the plaintiffs are accusing the Legislature of adopting a Republican gerrymander, while the lawmakers’ experts allege the plaintiffs are trying to rig a district for Democrats.

A map needs to be in place by Nov. 10, according to Lt. Gov Deidre Henderson, whose office oversees state elections, in order for county clerks to be ready for candidates to file to run for the U.S. House seats starting Jan. 2.

A key point of contention will likely center on the assertion by the plaintiffs’ witness, Jowsei Chen, a political science professor at the University of Michigan, that the two experts hired by the state — commentator Sean Trende and Brigham Young University Professor Michael Barber — made serious errors in their analysis of the Legislature’s chosen map.

Each of the three experts used computer algorithms to create tens of thousands of maps, supposedly drawn without partisan data and designed to comply with the other redistricting criteria — avoiding splits of cities and counties, making districts contiguous and compact, and preserving communities of interest.

The idea is that if the Legislature’s map looks enough like 95% of the randomly drawn maps, it is reasonable to believe that it wasn’t drawn to intentionally benefit Republicans.

But Chen writes that Trende and Barber failed to follow county lines. Some of Trende’s maps split Utah’s 29 counties as many as 13 times and thus produced a set of comparison maps with zigzagging districts that are not compact and end up looking like Rorschach paint blots.

Those maps don’t meet the most essential redistricting criteria in Utah law, Chen argues, and should not be used as comparisons for Legislature’s map.”

Moreover, Chen’s analysis shows that the more counties split and the less compact Trende’s districts are, the more Republican they lean. If the maps that split counties more than six times are excluded, Chen says, the Legislature’s map is an outlier and fails the partisan bias test.

Barber, Chen said, specifically coded his algorithm to not treat Salt Lake County as a county, which meant it intentionally carved up the most Democratic area of the state and produced Republican-leaning results that made Legislature’s map appear to be less of a gerrymander.

“I find that Dr. Trende’s simulations are deeply flawed to the point of being invalid because they do not account for (and, in fact, badly violate) Proposition 4’s neutral redistricting criteria,” Chen said in his report to the court. “Dr. Trende’s disregard for those criteria in constructing his ensembles caused a striking pro-Republican skew in his set of simulated maps.”

A spokesperson for the Legislature said that Trende could not respond to Chen’s assertion because of the litigation but that he looks forward to taking the stand in court to defend his work.

In a rebuttal report filed Wednesday with the court, Barber counters that Chen’s maps are a type of “black box,” in contrast to the peer-reviewed algorithm the BYU professor said he used and that the court has no way to know if Chen’s maps actually are applying neutral redistricting criteria. Barber argues that Chen’s maps “favor Democratic districts by design.”

How can the judge make her judgment?

Perhaps a more fundamental issue is what metrics Gibson can use to judge whether the Legislature’s map is a partisan gerrymander.

During the special session earlier this month, Republican legislators passed SB1011, sponsored by Sen. Brady Brammer, R-Pleasant Grove. The bill establishes three tests — and only three — that Gibson can consider when gauging if the Legislature’s map unduly disadvantages Democrats.

As Chen notes, the tests chosen don’t work well in a state like Utah with few congressional districts and a large Republican supermajority. The tests chosen actually have the effect of failing maps that create competitive districts while passing maps that have four safe GOP seats.

Additionally, the decision to “cull” maps that fail the test because they create a competitive or Democratic-leaning district — and not use them as a baseline for comparison — means the only maps left to compare the Legislature’s map against are ones that create safe Republican districts.

The plaintiffs want the judge to strike down SB1011, arguing it is a backdoor attempt to undo the voters intent in passing Prop 4 — to prohibit partisan gerrymandering — which the Utah Supreme Court has already said violates the public’s constitutional right to make law via the ballot initiative process.

Attorneys for the Legislature counter that Gibson, in her August ruling, explicitly said that lawmakers could set parameters on what constitutes a gerrymander, which is what it did.

Barber wrote that the tests the Legislature selected are recognized in academic circles. Based on those standards, he said, the Legislature’s map “performs like a typical, neutrally drawn Utah plan” and “does not unduly favor or disfavor either political party.”

Moreover, Barber and Trende reported that the two maps submitted for Gibson’s consideration by the plaintiffs fail the partisan bias tests that the Legislature’s map passes.

GOP consultant’s past courtroom battles

Trende has become a go-to expert for Republicans. He testified as an expert witness in several dozen election cases, including at least 15 partisan or racial gerrymandering cases, according to his biography. He was also one of two experts selected by a court in Virginia in 2021 to draw new boundaries in that state after a bipartisan redistricting commission failed to reach an agreement on political boundaries.

Trende’s primary job is as a political commentator on the RealClearPolitics website and received his doctorate in political science in December 2023.

A copy of Trende’s contract with the Legislature, obtained through an open records request, shows he was paid $500 an hour, up to $10,000, to analyze maps submitted to him by the Legislative Redistricting Committee.

Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, co-chair of the committee, said Trende had a separate contract with the Legislature’s outside counsel in the litigation to produce the five maps that were considered by lawmakers.

In a Louisiana redistricting ruling in 2024, the court largely dismissed Trende’s analysis, calling his methods “fundamentally flawed and completely useless,” along with “oversimplistic and unhelpful,” for the purposes of proving maps in that state violated the Voting Rights Act.

An appeals court agreed that the lower court was correct in largely dismissing his assessment.

Likewise, in a Maryland case, the court criticized the “superficial quality of his analysis” and said that “his number crunching had the appearance of rigor but contributed little” to helping the plaintiffs prove their case.

In 2020, while Trende was still in his doctoral program, a court in Georgia rejected him as an expert witness in a lawsuit over wait times at polling places, saying that, while an expert doesn’t necessarily have to have a doctorate, Trende had not written a peer-reviewed article, nor been part of a peer review of another’s work.

The two-day hearing in Gibson’s court will pit Trende against a familiar foe. Earlier this month, Mark Gaber, the attorney with the Campaign Legal Center who is representing the plaintiffs in the Utah case, reportedly had a lengthy and sometimes tense showdown with Trende in a Texas redistricting case.

Trende was testifying on behalf of Texas Republicans who are seeking to redraw the congressional boundaries in that state in such a way that would create five new safe Republican districts. Gaber is the counsel for the parties challenging that redistricting plan as well.

3 takeaways from Utah Jazz’s shocking blowout win of Los Angeles Clippers originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It was definitely the most unexpected result of the second night of the NBA season.

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The final score: Utah Jazz 129, Los Angeles Clippers 108.

Wait, what?

No, your eyes didn’t deceive you. The Jazz really did that.

They held leads of larger than 35 points for a lot of the game before putting it into cruise control late.

Maybe it’s a fluke. Maybe not.

MORE: VJ Edgecombe scored most points in NBA debut since Wilt Chamberlain in 1959

Here are three takeaways.

Jazz have real talent

Utah is for real. The Jazz have some dudes.

Everyone knows Lauri Markkanen, who had an efficient 20 points (8-13 FG, 4-7 3FG) with six rebounds and five assists.

Walker Kessler is well-known now, too, and he had 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four blocks while shooting 7-for-7.

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Brice Sensabaugh will grow into a popular name for his fireworks off the bench. He had 20 points in 23 minutes.

Rookie guard Walter Clayton Jr. out of national champion Florida had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists in just 18 minutes.

Keyonte George is the starting point guard, and he had 16 points with nine assists.

Add in 13 points for the formerly promising Taylor Hendricks, who may finally be healthy enough to contribute, and this is a team that can win.

That doesn’t even include Isaiah Collier, out injured, or Ace Bailey, who had just two points in his NBA debut while playing through illness.

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MORE: Giannis in 3rd place in NBA history on impressive list behind Kareem, Oscar

Clippers are old

The Clippers may have nights like this.

They’re a team full of veterans: James Harden, Bradley Beal, Kawhi Leonard, Nicolas Batum, Chris Paul, Brook Lopez are some of the longest-tenured players in the NBA.

It’s not like Derrick Jones Jr., John Collins or Ivica Zubac are particularly young, either.

Sometimes, the Clippers will just be outrun, outhustled and outplayed.

They’ve got enough talent to win a lot of games, too. But a night like this shows some downside to the roster construction, too.

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MORE: Raptors set incredible franchise record to open season

Jazz could go on a win streak

If the Jazz play like this, they could go on a win streak.

The upcoming schedule is very friendly.

Utah goes to Sacramento on Friday to play the Kings.

From there, it’s Suns, Trail Blazers, Suns and Hornets.

A trip to Boston on Nov. 3, in game seven, is the first major test for Utah. The Jazz could take a strong record into that game.

More NBA News:

The 2025 Bank of Utah Championship gets underway Thursday with the opening round at Black Desert Resort in Utah. You can find full Bank of Utah Championship tee times for Thursday’s first round at the bottom of this post.

Featured tee time for Round 1

Last year’s Bank of Utah Championship, then known as the Black Desert Championship, was the inaugural playing of the event, and it couldn’t have gone much better for up-and-coming PGA Tour star Matt McCarty.

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Making only his third Tour start at the time, McCarty put together a total score of 23 under to capture his first Tour victory.

With the win, McCarty made his way into 25 Tour events this season, collecting two top-10 finishes. Now he’s hoping to end his season with an exclamation point at Black Desert Resort, just as he did last year.

McCarty tees off for the opening round on Thursday at 3:08 p.m. ET alongside betting favorite Maverick McNealy and Billy Horschel.

You can watch Thursday’s first round of the 2025 Bank of Utah Championship from 5-8 p.m. ET on Golf Channel. You can also stream a live simulcast of Golf Channel’s coverage via NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App.

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Check out the complete Round 1 tee times for the Bank of Utah Championship below.

2025 Bank of Utah Championship tee times for Thursday: Round 1 (ET)

Tee No. 1

9:55 a.m. – Ryan Palmer, Greyson Sigg, Isaiah Salinda
10:06 a.m. – Sam Ryder, Max McGreevy, Paul Peterson
10:17 a.m. – Will Gordon, Jesper Svensson, Doc Redman
10:28 a.m. – Adam Svensson, Adam Schenk, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
10:39 a.m. – Karl Vilips, Lee Hodges, Seamus Power
10:50 a.m. – Camilo Villegas, Luke List, Emiliano Grillo
11:01 a.m. – Ben Martin, David Lipsky, David Skinns
11:12 a.m. – Cameron Champ, Vince Whaley, Jeremy Paul
11:23 a.m. – Quade Cummins, Kevin Velo, Connor Howe
11:34 a.m. – Harrison Endycott, Vince Covello, Carson Lundell
11:45 a.m. – Cristobal Del Solar, Gordon Sargent, Kihei Akina (a)
2:35 p.m. – Martin Laird, Ryo Hisatsune, Kris Ventura
2:46 p.m. – Chesson Hadley, Doug Ghim, Jackson Suber
2:57 p.m. – Matt NeSmith, Chan Kim, Hayden Springer
3:08 p.m. – Maverick McNealy, Matt McCarty, Billy Horschel
3:19 p.m. – Kurt Kitayama, Max Homa, Alex Noren
3:30 p.m. – William Mouw, Kevin Yu, Nick Hardy
3:41 p.m. – Beau Hossler, Mark Hubbard, Joseph Bramlett
3:52 p.m. – Austin Cook, Kevin Streelman, Patrick Fishburn
4:03 p.m. – Trevor Cone, Matthew Riedel, Yi Cao
4:14 p.m. – Matteo Manassero, Kaito Onishi, Mason Andersen
4:25 p.m. – Taylor Montgomery, Norman Xiong, Preston Summerhays

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Tee No. 10

9:55 a.m. – Hayden Buckley, Rico Hoey, Thorbjørn Olesen
10:06 a.m. – Andrew Putnam, Justin Lower, Chandler Phillips
10:17 a.m. – Scott Piercy, Ben Kohles, Kevin Roy
10:28 a.m. – Steven Fisk, Sahith Theegala, Jason Day
10:39 a.m. – Ryan Gerard, Aldrich Potgieter, Michael Thorbjornsen
10:50 a.m. – Davis Thompson, Stephan Jaeger, Brandt Snedeker
11:01 a.m. – Carson Young, Mac Meissner, Ben Silverman
11:12 a.m. – Alex Smalley, Harry Higgs, Victor Perez
11:23 a.m. – Frankie Capan III, Anders Albertson, Tim Widing
11:34 a.m. – Will Chandler, Philip Knowles, Sebastian Moss
11:45 a.m. – Antoine Rozner, David Ford, Gavin Cohen
2:35 p.m. – Chad Ramey, Dylan Wu, Danny Walker
2:46 p.m. – Lanto Griffin, Patrick Rodgers, Ricky Castillo
2:57 p.m. – Trey Mullinax, Adam Hadwin, Henrik Norlander
3:08 p.m. – Joe Highsmith, Brice Garnett, Taylor Moore
3:19 p.m. – Patton Kizzire, Nick Dunlap, Francesco Molinari
3:30 p.m. – Rafael Campos, Matt Wallace, Tom Hoge
3:41 p.m. – Joel Dahmen, James Hahn, Zac Blair
3:52 p.m. – Noah Goodwin, Thomas Rosenmueller, Owen Stamper
4:03 p.m. – Taylor Dickson, Braden Thornberry, Tommy Sharp
4:14 p.m. – Pierceson Coody, Luke Clanton, Michael Brennan
4:25 p.m. – Takumi Kanaya, John Pak, David Liechty (a)

The post 2025 Bank of Utah Championship Thursday tee times: Round 1 groupings appeared first on Golf.

After more than 14 years in the Utah Senate, which saw him defy his Republican Party leaders and eventually leave the party entirely, Sen. Daniel Thatcher abruptly announced Tuesday he will be stepping down.

Thatcher, a member of the Utah Forward Party since March, made his announcement on social media Tuesday night, saying that he was stepping aside before the upcoming legislative session in order to give his constituents “the best outcome.”

Recently, Thatcher had dealt with the aftereffects of a stroke suffered in 2022 that tested his ability to sustain his work as a senator.

His departure from the body will, it appears, give the fledgling Utah Forward Party, which has just over 2,100 registered members, its first opportunity to select a state senator.

Thatcher won his first election in 2010, knocking off an entrenched Democrat in a district that covered Salt Lake County’s west side.

“I have now served more than half my adult life,” Thatcher said in his retirement announcement. “I am rightfully proud of the work I’ve done, the friends I’ve made, the votes I’ve cast and for always keeping my word, no matter the cost or difficulty.”

Thatcher said Wednesday he hasn’t submitted his official resignation to Senate President Stuart Adams and he would likely wait on that — and to put a date on his departure — until he has assurances the Forward Utah Party and not the Republican Party would get to choose his replacement.

In 2019, he voted against a massive overhaul of the state tax code that would have slashed income taxes while raising the sales tax on food. Legislators later repealed the measure after residents quickly gathered enough signatures to put a referendum to repeal the food tax on the ballot.

He opposed a measure in 2022 that sought to ban transgender girls from competing in high school sports, saying that “we want to protect our girls, but this bill hurts our girls.”

“It hurts the trans community. I think it violates the Constitution. And I think it wastes money,” he said during debate on whether to override Gov. Spencer Cox’s veto of the bill. “It’s political theater.”

In 2021, the Republican Legislature significantly redrew Thatcher’s Senate district, but he fended off Republican challengers and won reelection.

And last August, he voted against a constitutional amendment that sought to empower the Legislature to repeal voter-passed ballot initiatives at will, predicting it would “give us the biggest black eye we could have as a Legislature.”

He spoke at a rally opposing that amendment, saying voters get the final say on whether to change the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court later struck down the amendment.

“The question before us is: Is there a limit?” he said at the time. “Either there is a limit, and it is this reasonable boundary [the court established], or there is no limit, and we surrender the final bulwark forever.”

Soon after, he lost his long-held spot as chair of the government operations committee, lost his Capitol office and was assigned to sit among the Democratic members of the Senate.

Earlier this year, he cast a loud vote against Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, being reelected as the head of the body — the only member from either party to oppose Adams’ reelection.

Weeks later, he was the only Republican to oppose a bill that would have banned transgender students at Utah universities from living in a dorm that aligns with their gender identity.

“In our rush to show that we’re doing something,” he said during debate on the bill, “I think we’re doing the wrong something.”

In March, Thatcher became the first lawmaker since 2016 to change parties, abandoning the Republican Party to join the Utah Forward Party, frustrated, he said, with the majority party’s unwillingness to listen to constituents and their propensity for enacting laws that limit individual freedom.

“We used to reason together,” he said at the time. “We used to listen to the people who would be impacted by our bills and try to find a way to solve policy problems without creating bigger problems and we just don’t do that anymore. The respect is gone. The human dignity is gone.”

The same week he left the GOP, he had voted against a bill that would facilitate the deportation of legal migrants who commit misdemeanors and another bill that banned pride flags from government property.

And he opposed legislation that sought to crack down on labor unions by prohibiting public employee unions from negotiating with their government employers.

In his resignation announcement, Thatcher said, following state law, the Forward Party would be replacing him in the Legislature.

“It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve in the state Senate,” Thatcher concluded, “I will continue to serve to the best of my ability as this process unfolds; a better process, that respects all voters, and restores the representation necessary for a functional republic. Time to move FORWARD.”

Note to readers • Oct. 22, 9:55 a.m.: The story has been updated to note that Thatcher has not formally submitted his resignation to Senate leaders and has not identified an effective date for his departure.

This is it; the beginning of another season approaches. 82 games lined up like dominoes, one into the other, into the other, toppling in succession in a chain that can only reach one fate. One destination. One result. There is only one finale to this story, and the Utah Jazz will play the catalyst on Wednesday night, sending the first chip into the future for the team’s 2025 season tip-off.

It’s exciting! It’s nerve-wracking. It’s… a little disconcerting. A whole season of basketball opens the door to tremendous potential. Over the next seven months, basketball will spring from the earth like an oil strike. For some, this means tremendous prosperity, legacy, and a chance for immortalization. But for the ragtag bunch who call Salt Lake City home, well, their season begins with few expectations.

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Be honest with yourself: what are your hopes for the season? What do you hope to discover? Witness? Partake in a hearty slice of history? Last year’s Jazz were the most abysmal bunch in the entire NBA. 17 wins were good for the bottom of the barrel. There are benefits, of course, to sitting at the bottom of the barrel. For one, it’s usually the fish near the top who get shot — they’re certainly the easiest targets — but when stacked under the weight of 29 other NBA teams, it’s a steep and grueling climb back to the top.

But Utah has no immediate plans to scale the cliff. They don’t care to challenge the predators for a Finals berth, nor do they have any expectations to even sniff postseason basketball of any sort. No, this is another year of swapping out a sandstone foundation for limestone. It could be a 40-year project, but the Jazz want to build an empire that lasts through the eons and remains standing despite the promise of a Victor Wembanyama stranglehold over the future Western Conference. The Jazz wish for a future where the championship trophy doesn’t just reside in their display case — they want it to have some friends. New numbers to hang in the rafters. A dynasty in the Beehive State.

Some of those future numbers may be on this year’s roster. Number 19 comes to mind; one Airious “Ace” Bailey could be the face of the Utah Jazz and one of the brightest stars in basketball in just a few short years. Perhaps Walker Kessler and Lauri Markkanen take another step forward and light the hardwood ablaze night in, night out. Will Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks, and Brice Sensabaugh take a collective leap and lead the charge of a worthy NBA competitor?

Or will Jazz fans instead grind their teeth as John Collins yams on his former team with an indulgent 30+ point explosion with Los Angeles? Yeah, there’s another side to this contest, and it’s the Los Angeles Clippers. Always second fiddle in the City of Angels (to clarify, I mean Los Angeles, not Bangkok… that expansion doesn’t happen until 2042), the Clips enter this season on the backs of James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Steve Ballmer’s extensive checkbook. The Clippers will, once again, be desperate for a chance at the NBA Finals appearance that has evaded them since they sold their soul (which would eventually materialize into SGA) for Paul George and the aforementioned Leonard.

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Utah will gladly hold the door open for the season’s maiden matchup — if the Clippers win, both teams get what they want. You can catch the season opener on KJZZ and SEG+ at 7:00 PM MT in the Delta Center.

So it begins; another season of Utah Jazz basketball is underway.

Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.

House Bill 265 — the so-called “Higher Education Strategic Reinvestment” measure — has dramatically altered operations at Utah’s eight public degree-granting institutions.

Earlier this year, the Utah Legislature cut 10% from each school’s budgets — then allowed them in subsequent months to recapture those withheld funds if they successfully “reinvested” in programs determined to be of highest value to both students and Utah’s economy.

HB265 proponents say the historic legislation fosters opportunities that will benefit Utah students — professionally and personally — in a fast-evolving, high-tech world.

But each school’s reinvestment plan has exacted pain. While hundreds of new employee positions are being created, hundreds are also being eliminated.

Meanwhile, academic programs and course offerings have been dramatically altered across Utah’s higher education institutions — with aggressive reinvestment happening in health care, STEM and AI.

No surprise, HB265 has fans — and opponents.

The Deseret News asked several lawmakers and educators to share their opinions and insights on the historic legislation that will likely impact higher education in Utah for years to come.

The question posed to each: “Is higher education in Utah better off than it was a year ago?”

(Some responses have been edited for length.)

Utah lawmakers

Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper

“Utah set out to do something different — and it’s working.

“Our higher education system is stronger today than it was a year ago because we made a conscious choice to put students first. HB265 has delivered exactly what we hoped for: More efficiency, more opportunities for Utah’s students, and a better connection between our campuses and Utah’s workforce needs.

“Our colleges and universities took on the challenge, identifying $23 million in administrative costs and reinvesting those savings to expand high-impact opportunities for students in engineering, health care, business and technology.

“Best of all, it’ll make higher education more affordable, helping students graduate with less debt. Utah is leading the way in showing that higher education can be both forward-looking and fiscally responsible.

“When we stay focused on students, accountability and outcomes, everyone wins — students, taxpayers and our entire state. And we’re just getting started.”

Sen. Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, a public school teacher

“I do not believe Utah higher education is better off.

“First, education is our largest employer in 23 counties. In our smaller counties, where Snow College and our Utah State University extensions (operate), this has been a tremendous setback.

“Second, Utah State University was the only university that did not have their budget OK’d because of their previous president — and that president is not picked by Utah State University alone, but vetted by a committee.

“Third, universities are competitive with their peers across the country, and we are continually in the news with education bills that are harmful to the autonomy of an institution of higher learning. Nonresident students pay a higher price and create a windfall for our universities, and I believe this will be a detriment to attracting the best and the brightest to our schools.

“Fourth, these cuts overwhelmingly were to humanities and social sciences classes. In our committee hearings, many of us voiced our disdain for taking away classes that build critical thinkers, and I believe this targets those classes at a higher rate than our other sciences.

“Fifth, nothing in the bill said that they could not target sports — as we have passed bills to fund the NIL programs to bring the best in the brightest to our sports programs. We did not do anything to cut those budgets by 10%.

“Lastly, we could have cut by attrition — draw downs to not encourage new students in those programs. Our universities do amazing things, but to force students to attend a university far from where they live is exactly the opposite of what we are doing to promote rural schools, rural communities and rural success. Leaving that community to attend another university has a high percentage of not returning.”

Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton

“When the economy shifts and industries evolve, Utah doesn’t wait. We lead. That’s what sets us apart. That’s why Utah is the best state in the nation. We understand what the future demands and why we’ve prioritized industry-driven degrees that directly align with the needs of our fastest-growing sectors.

“Since the passage of the recent legislation just a few months ago, we’re already seeing real results with strategic reinvestment plans approved by the Executive Appropriations Committee last month. Utah’s colleges and universities are adapting their programs to meet real-world demands.

“We’re not just preparing students; we’re powering Utah’s economy for generations to come. We’re keeping our workforce competitive, adaptable and ready for the future. I appreciate higher education institutions for their commitment and partnership.”

HB265 co-sponsor Rep. Karen Peterson, R-Clinton

“HB265 created a fundamental shift in how our colleges and universities operate, refocusing our efforts not only on better use of tax dollars and tuition, but also on evaluating the programs we offer.

“Each institution identified ways to operate more efficiently, redirecting resources from administration back into the classroom. More than 85% of reinvested dollars — nearly $52 million — are now flowing directly into classroom instruction and research. That’s a win for Utah students.

“Because of HB265, our colleges and universities are investing tens of millions more into degree and certificate programs aligned with Utah’s workforce needs — producing stronger outcomes for students without raising taxes or tuition. This means more highly skilled nurses, engineers, and mental health professionals entering Utah’s workforce.

“When we put student outcomes first, it’s good for families, communities, and the future of our state.”

College professor and Senate Minority Whip Karen Kwan, D-Murray

“It’s a mixed bag. The higher education reinvestment forced institutions to look for efficiencies. That’s always a good thing. But the work was not completed in a systemic way — and it was meant to be done quickly without the full systemic input of faculty, staff, industry and students.

“Do we have the desired (student-demanded) offerings in every region of our state now — and those that students will demand in five years? In 10 or 20 years? That’s hard to say because the workforce changes quicker than we know.

“So the work in reinvestment really needs to be an ongoing, system wide conversation. One that can be nimble enough to change with student demand, industry needs, and faculty expertise year-to-year. And it should never have been tied to funding. Curriculum review and elimination should be carefully considered with expert input that is free of having to cut programs for the sake of hitting an artificial funding goal.

“That pits academic programs against each other in a sort of institutional ‘Hunger Games.’

“This leads some faculty and staff to be confused about their future and their ability to speak out freely. That’s not good. Faculty should feel secure with their academic freedom, but HB265 and the national conversation pitting funding against academic freedom has had a negative impact on curriculum and student resources — the extent of which, in Utah, we will see in the HB265 report due in November.”

Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden — HB265 co-sponsor and former president of Weber State University

“HB265 marks a positive step forward for our state’s excellent higher education system. It prioritizes programs that deliver the greatest value to students, ensuring graduates enter the workforce well-prepared.

“While many of its changes are still in the early stages of implementation, the bill has been well-received by higher education institutions and educators, who are preparing for a thoughtful and effective rollout.

“One notable change already underway is the option for fast-tracked three-year programs, which require fewer credit hours and allow students to gain real-world experience earlier in their careers.

“Just a year ago, resources were stretched thin across both high- and low-demand programs. Now, with clearer priorities and targeted investments, Utah is better positioned to support what matters most: our students, educators and future workforce.”

Utah educators

University of Utah President Taylor Randall

“Yes, I believe the University of Utah is stronger and better positioned than it was a year ago.

“HB265 challenged us to ask hard questions about efficiency and alignment with workforce needs — accelerating our own efforts to achieve ‘operation excellence’ through data-driven solutions to advance our Impact 2030 vision.

“Meeting the Legislature’s $20.5 million reallocation and reinvestment mandate was not easy, but it has helped us adopt the right lens moving forward — one that keeps our focus squarely on serving students, supporting Utah’s workforce, and maximizing our impact across the state.”

Jim Mortensen, Utah Valley University vice president of Finance and Auxiliary Services

“Because we receive one of the lowest levels of state funding per student while serving the most students in Utah, UVU has built a strong record of using taxpayer and tuition dollars wisely.

“HB265 supports the careful, data-driven way we make tough budget decisions — and we are grateful for the backing of our campus community and the trust of the Legislature as we focus on student success and Utah’s workforce.”

Utah State University Interim President Alan L. Smith

“While the strategic reinvestment planning process required thoughtful and important decisions on an accelerated timeframe, it has positioned us to ensure we are preparing students for fulfilling careers while meeting our land-grant mission of learning, discovery, and engagement.

“We look forward to the Utah Board of Higher Education naming USU’s 18th president and revisiting our plan for approval.”

(Note: Utah State University’s final strategic reinvestment plan will be examined by the school’s new president, once hired — and then presented to the Utah Board of Higher Education for assessment.)

Paul Morris, Utah Tech University vice president of Administrative Affairs and co-chair of the school’s strategic reinvestment committee

“We believe the reinvestment process will benefit higher education in Utah, but it is too early to say.

“Utah Tech University has started to implement reductions, decreasing the number of administrators. We look forward to relocating those funds to increase the number of full-time faculty in classrooms.”

Utah Commissioner of Higher Education Geoffrey Landward

“Yes, I think our higher education system is on a stronger trajectory today than a year ago.

“The implementation of HB265 complements our ongoing systemwide review processes to ensure programs remain aligned with workforce demand and institutional roles and missions.

“These efforts help institutions make data-informed decisions about where to reinvest resources and how best to meet Utah’s evolving educational and economic needs. The changes over the last year have only helped us strengthen programs and better serve students and the state.”