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Okay, maybe Vanderbilt isn’t the best team in the SEC at the moment, but with four blowout wins in four games, and not all of them against lightweights, the team is rolling. 

The Commodores have outscored their opponents 190 to 51, and that’s with blowouts over South Carolina and Virginia Tech. This is the last breather, though, with a trip to Alabama up next, and then LSU, Missouri, and at Texas.

But Utah State could be a problem.

It wasn’t horrible in a 44-22 loss to Texas A&M, and it’s 3-1 thanks to a strong win over Air Force, but there’s a ton of traveling to do. 

After going to Nashville, the Aggies get a week off to get out to Hawaii as part of a run of three road games in four dates.

Vanderbilt Commodores vs Utah State Aggies Game Preview

Vanderbilt vs Utah State How To Watch

Saturday, September 27, 2025
Game Time: 12:45 PM ET
TV: SEC Network
Location: FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, TN
– CFP Top 12 & Projections
– Bowl Projections
– SEC Picks For Every Remaining Game
@PeteFiutak

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Why Utah State Will Win

Again with the focus.  

Vanderbilt started hot last year, and then couldn’t seem to do anything right in a shocking loss to a bad Georgia State squad. And again, the SEC season rolls on with Alabama up next.

For all of the good things Vandy does, it commits a ton of penalties, and the secondary has given up a few too many yards over the last few weeks – to be fair, Georgia State kept throwing to keep up.

Former Utah Utes will keep throwing. He’s been deadly accurate lately, the Aggies are among the best in the nation in passing efficiency, and …

Why Vanderbilt Will Win

The Commodores have been close to flawless so far.

There was a problem running against South Carolina, but it was a 31-7 SEC road win, so who cares? Thanks to another wonderful season from Diego Pavia, they’re running well, throwing better, and everything keeps moving.

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The offensive line. has been fantastic so far. Pavia’s decision-making and mobility help, but the front five have taken over games. The defensive side is great at getting into the backfield, and …

Vanderbilt Will Beat Utah State on the Lines

The Aggie lines have been solid so far in most areas, but the pass protection has occasionally been a bit of an issue.

The run D couldn’t hold up against Texas A&M or Air Force, and Vanderbilt will start grinding early on. On the other side, the steady pass rush should take over in key moments against a line that’s allowing four sacks per game.

Vanderbilt vs Utah State Prediction, Betting Lines

Vanderbilt 44, Utah State 20
Line: Vanderbilt -22.5, o/u: 60.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
Must See Rating: 2.5

Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

– CFN 1-136 Rankings

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Related: LSU vs Ole Miss Prediction: The SEC’s Best Game of the Week?

This story was originally reported by College Football News on Sep 25, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Gov. Spencer Cox said Wednesday he was looking at “the best of Utah” when he addressed the steering committee formed to advise organizers of the 2034 Winter Games at the end of their first in-person meeting.

“It’s been a rough couple of weeks for our state. Certainly there are a lot of people that didn’t know much about Utah,” the governor said, but being an Olympic host “may be the one thing that they do know.”

In remarks that Cox said were different than he planned to make, he repeated what he was told about the deadly shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 that put the state in the spotlight.

While at the University of Notre Dame to participate in a discussion about “Pragmatism over Polarization,” the governor said he was approached by an alumnus from New York who expressed gratitude toward Utah.

“He said, ‘You need to know that bad things are going to happen. Worse things are going to happen and the world needs Utah right now. I’m so grateful that your state was the one, because I think if it happened anywhere else, it would have been a lot worse for our country.’”

“That’s who you are,” the governor said to the community, political, business and sports leaders gathered in a small meeting room at Little America, where hundreds of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic officials are also meeting this week.

Praising the steering committee members for their efforts to help “pull off an incredible worldwide event,” Cox said they’re “the doers. Because of that, I have no worries at all about the Olympics. I know right now, I can promise you, that this will be the greatest Olympics.”

Cox said Utahns are “a bit battered. We’re a little bit bruised. But we are not broken. We are better than the worst among us and the nation needs us right now. They’re going to need us in 2034. And we’re going to show them how to do this right.”

Earlier in the 1½-hourlong meeting, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said the Olympics are something to feel a part of during “an emotional time in America.” The mayor said “whatever disagreements we have matter not in the face of what we’re doing here together.”

Leaders of the Organizing Committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games said the event can be a positive force.

“All of us feel the tragedy of any loss of life. It’s so hard. And it’s so difficult for our society. The Games have the power to bring people together,” Fraser Bullock, the organizing committee’s president and executive chair, told reporters after the meeting.

“We want to bring that ray of light, that hope to the world, in what we do. And in hosting the world here, we want to maximize this opportunity to do that,” said Bullock, who helped lead Utah’s first Olympics, held just months after the deadly Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S.

Brad Wilson, CEO of the 2034 Games, said “regardless of the challenges that the world is facing, our job is to focus on the value of Olympic competition, the value of hosting the world and to try to be a consistent kind of rudder … to give people something to focus on that’s positive.”

Wilson announced at the steering committee meeting there will be a celebration on Nov. 24 to mark 3,000 days to the start of the 2034 Games with Opening Ceremonies at the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium.

He said the organizing committee, which currently has eight employees and three consultants on the payroll, will fill some nine more positions in the coming year. By Games time, Wilson said there will be 50,000 employees, volunteers and contractors.

How the state can benefit from a second Winter Games, the subject of a new report from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, was also discussed.

Huntsman Family Foundation CEO David Huntsman said there’s an opportunity to think beyond improving infrastructure to addressing societal needs, particularly when it comes to mental health.

Huntsman, who spoke in June at an International Olympic Committee forum in Switzerland about improving the support available to athletes around the world for their mental health, said the 2034 Games can be used as a “platform for change.”

But there’s no time to wait, he said.

“We need to be using every opportunity between now and then to be implementing those changes,” Huntsman said, to hopefully leave a legacy that has “impact on real people’s lives, beyond those who normally would be associated or participate in the Games.”

Date: Saturday, September 27, 2025

Kickoff Time: 3:30PM ET

Location: Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia

Channel: FOX

Announcers: Jason Benetti (PBP), Robert Griffin III (analyst), and Alexa Landestoy (sideline)

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Online Streaming: Fox Sports with a valid cable subscription

Radio: Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG (Radio Affiliates) | Sirius Channel 111 or 199 and Streaming Channel 953 | WVU Gameday App (Apple | Android)

Radio Announcers: Tony Caridi (PBP), Dwight Wallace (analyst), Jed Drenning (sideline), Andrew Caridi, and John Antonik (Pre/Postgame Show)

Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments.

Broadcast Information:

Tune in to FOX and the Fox Sports app (with a valid cable subscription) to catch the live broadcast of the game. Jason Benetti will be on the call, while Robert Griffin III will provide analysis. Alexa Landestoy will report from the sideline.

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Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning will man their usual roles for the Mountaineer Sports Network radio broadcast, while Andrew Caridi and John Antonik handle the pre/postgame shows.

Betting Odds:

Get in on the action with our friends at FanDuel Sportsbook. These odds are current as of 12:00PM on Wednesday, September 24th and are subject to change, so make sure to keep an eye on them before kickoff.

• West Virginia: +13.5 points

• Utah: -13.5 points

• Over/Under: 47.5 total points

Key Stats:

Here are some stats to keep in mind as the game unfolds:

• Series History: West Virginia and Utah have met just twice, both in bowl games, and the Utes won both — 32–6 in the 1964 Liberty Bowl and 30–14 in the 2017 Heart of Dallas Bowl. Saturday will be the first matchup in Morgantown.

• Utah is putting up 36.8 points per game and ranks among the nation’s top 20 in rushing offense at 243 yards per game.

• WVU’s offense has leaned on the ground game too, averaging just over 200 rushing yards per game, good for top 40 nationally.

• The Mountaineer defense has produced 13 sacks through four games, tied for fourth in the country.

• Red zone execution has been a strength — WVU is a perfect 12-for-12 on scoring chances, tied for first nationally.

• Utah’s defense has been equally sharp, holding opponents to 14.8 points per game and under 300 total yards on average.

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Utah Jazz rookie Ace Bailey, the No. 5 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, is parting ways with manager Omar Cooper, multiple league sources have informed The Athletic.

Bailey, a 6-foot-9 forward out of Rutgers, is seeking new representation. He and his camp have done interviews to this point, league sources say, but a decision on who he will ultimately go with has not been made.

Cooper’s son, Sharife, recently signed with the Washington Wizards on a two-way contract. In the pre-draft process, Cooper advised Bailey not to work out for any of the teams that owned a top-five pick. The wide belief is that Cooper wanted Bailey to land with the Wizards, who owned the No. 6 pick. The Jazz interviewed Bailey at the pre-draft combine in Chicago. But they were not able to get him into Utah for a pre-draft workout.

The only team in the top five that came close to getting Bailey in, according to league sources, was the Philadelphia 76ers, who owned the No. 3 pick. Bailey and his camp committed to a workout, but it fell through, and the Sixers selected guard VJ Edgecombe with the third pick.

Bailey is slated to compete for a spot in head coach Will Hardy’s starting lineup. At the very least, Bailey should become a rotation player in his rookie season.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Kevin Love is joining the Jazz after all

According to Grant Afseth, Kevin Love will be joining the Utah Jazz at training camp.

According to Afseth, the Jazz have not advanced buyout discussions and expect Love to join the Utah Jazz training camp next week.

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It’s clear that there was not a lot of headway made in the buyout talks, and Love is still technically part of the Jazz. Utah is making such strong moves as they continue to do things in a way they’ve never done before. Kevin Love certainly seemed to expect that every wish would be granted, that he would simply be bought out and join whoever he wanted. Not the case with this Jazz team. Utah will certainly still work with Love to find a situation that works for both sides, but there is no hurry to do something if it doesn’t make sense for the Jazz. Love also brings experience and can be a mentor for the young Jazz bigs.

Utah Jazz waive KJ Martin

According to Michael Scotto, the Utah Jazz waived KJ Martin.

Martin had an $8M non-guaranteed contract that is now freed up for the rest of the season.

Utah is doing great work cleaning up their books and making sure they’re free and clear with every decision they make. If I could describe the short Austin Ainge stint with the Jazz so far, I’d describe it as disciplined. Utah is keeping their focus on their plan and not making hasty moves that don’t fit with the long-term plan. It’s extremely refreshing.

All the game dates and opponents are locked into place for both the Utah men’s and women’s basketball teams in the upcoming season, after the Big 12 announced the league schedule for both sports this week.

The women’s schedule came out Monday, with the men’s schedule being released Tuesday.

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What stands out from the Utah men’s basketball 2025-26 schedule

One of the biggest surprises on Utah’s Big 12 schedule is that the Runnin’ Utes will play BYU twice in January, just two weeks apart. Utah hosts the Cougars at the Huntsman Center on Jan. 10, then plays in Provo on Jan. 24. The Cougars and Utes split the season series last year, with each team winning at home.

BYU is the only Big 12 team that made the NCAA Tournament last season that Utah will face twice during the conference schedule. The Utes also will face Arizona State and Colorado twice.

The Utes will host national runners-up Houston on Feb. 10. Utah played the Cougars in Houston last season, where it lost by 34.

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To open Big 12 play, the Utes will host Arizona on Jan. 3, before school is back in session following the Christmas break. The Wildcats made the NCAA Tournament last year.

Other Big 12 teams that made the NCAAs last season that the Utes will face include hosting Iowa State (Feb. 24), while Utah will travel to Baylor (March 7), Texas Tech (Jan. 14) and Kansas (Feb. 7).

The Utes’ game at Kansas will be their first trip to historic Allen Fieldhouse since joining the Big 12.

During nonconference play, though the Utes have an exhibition game at Oregon, they won’t leave the state during the regular season for the first six games.

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Two of Utah’s toughest out-of-conference matchups will happen at the Acrisure Series in California, when the Utes face Grand Canyon, then either Ole Miss or Iowa.

Utah will hit the road twice in nonconference play to take on former Pac-12 rivals in California (Dec. 2) and Washington (Dec. 29).

Weber State is back on Utah’s schedule. The Utes host the Wildcats on Nov. 8.

Utah men’s basketball 2025-26 schedule

Nonconference play

• Oct. 17 — Nevada (exhibition)

• Oct. 24 — at Oregon (exhibition)

• Nov. 3 — San Jose State

• Nov. 8 — Weber State

• Nov. 10 — Holy Cross

• Nov. 15 — Sam Houston State

• Nov. 18 — Purdue Fort Wayne

• Nov. 20 — Cal Poly

• Nov. 25 — vs. Grand Canyon (Acrisure Series, Palm Desert, California)

• Nov. 26 — vs. Ole Miss or Iowa

• Dec. 2 — at California

• Dec. 6 — Cal Baptist

• Dec. 13 — vs. Mississippi State (Delta Center)

• Dec. 20 — Eastern Washington

• Dec. 29 — at Washington

Big 12 schedule

• Jan. 3 — Arizona

• Jan. 7 — at Colorado

• Jan. 10 — BYU

• Jan. 14 — at Texas Tech

• Jan. 17 — TCU

• Jan. 20 — at Kansas State

• Jan. 24 — at BYU

• Jan. 31 — Oklahoma State

• Feb. 4 — Arizona State

• Feb. 7 — at Kansas

• Feb. 10 — Houston

• Feb. 15 — at Cincinnati

• Feb. 18 — at West Virginia

• Feb. 21 — UCF

• Feb. 24 — Iowa State

• Feb. 28 — at Arizona State

• March 3 — Colorado

• March 7 — at Baylor

• March 10-14, Big 12 Tournament (T-Mobile Center, Kansas City)

What stands out from the Utah women’s basketball 2025-26 schedule

Utah will open its conference portion of its schedule at Arizona on Dec. 22, followed by the Big 12 home opener on New Year’s Eve against Arizona State.

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The Utes will play at BYU on Jan. 31, then host the Cougars on Feb. 21. In last year’s game at the Huntsman Center between the two schools, Maty Wilke hit a half-court buzzer-beater to lift Utah past BYU in overtime. The Utes have won their past four games against BYU.

Utah will host defending Big 12 champion TCU on Jan. 3. The Utes lost to the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, Texas, last season. TCU advanced to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament.

The Utes don’t have a home-and-home with any of the other six Big 12 teams that, like Utah, made the NCAA Tournament. In addition to hosting TCU, the Utes will face Baylor, West Virginia and Iowa State from that group, while traveling to Kansas State and Oklahoma State.

The three teams Utah will face twice — both home and away — include BYU, Arizona and Arizona State.

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The highlight game from the nonconference slate is against defending national champion UConn, as well as Syracuse, in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, just before Thanksgiving.

One late addition to the nonconference schedule is that Utah will play at former Mountain West Conference foe Colorado State on Dec. 4. The game was announced by the Rams last week.

Utah women’s basketball 2025-26 schedule

Nonconference play

• Oct. 27 — Western Colorado (exhibition)

• Nov. 3 — San Diego State

• Nov. 7 — at Utah State

• Nov. 11 — Utah Valley

• Nov. 15 — Washington

• Nov. 21 — vs. Syracuse (Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase, Uncasville, Connecticut)

• Nov. 23 — vs. UConn (Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase, Uncasville, Connecticut)

• Nov. 26 — Weber State

• Nov. 29 — at Montana

• Dec. 4 — at Colorado State

• Dec. 10 — Boise State

• Dec. 14 — Northwestern

• Dec. 17 — UC Riverside

Big 12 play

• Dec. 22 — at Arizona

• Dec. 31 — Arizona State

• Jan. 3 — TCU

• Jan. 7 — at Kansas

• Jan. 10 — at Kansas State

• Jan. 14 — Baylor

• Jan. 17 — at Houston

• Jan. 24 — Texas Tech

• Jan. 27 — West Virginia

• Jan. 31 — at BYU

• Feb. 4 — at UCF

• Feb. 7 — Iowa State

• Feb. 11 — at Arizona State

• Feb. 14 — Cincinnati

• Feb. 16 — at Oklahoma State

• Feb. 21 — BYU

• Feb. 24 — at Colorado

• Feb. 28 — Arizona

• March 4-8, Big 12 Tournament (T-Mobile Center, Kansas City)

John Henry Daley had to bide his time for a year after transferring to Utah, but the wait has been well worth it.

The Ute sophomore has been filling up the stat sheet this season after winning the starting job, leading the nation in sacks with six and contributing 7.5 tackles for loss (tops in the Big 12 and second in the nation), 18 total tackles, a pass breakup and two forced fumbles.

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He’s not only been Utah’s most consistent defensive player — he leads the team with an 89 Pro Football Focus grade — but he’s provided plenty of game-changing plays through the first four games of the season.

In the season-opener against UCLA — Daley’s first start ever — the Alpine, Utah, native sacked quarterback Nico Iamaleava twice. A week later against Cal Poly, Daley registered a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss.

“I mean it was unbelievable being able to go into the Rose Bowl against UCLA and make my first collegiate start. I mean it was a dream come true,” Daley said.

Daley’s real coming out party as a force to be reckoned with came in Laramie in the Utes’ 31-6 win at Wyoming. As Utah’s offense struggled to finish drives, scoring just three points in the first half, Daley and the Ute defense kept them in the game.

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In the first quarter, Daley sacked Cowboy quarterback Kaden Anderson on 3rd-and-10 on the Utah 21-yard line to knock Wyoming out of field goal position, saving three points. A quarter later, with the Cowboys again in Ute territory, Daley forced Anderson to cough the ball up on a sack and Utah recovered the fumble.

Daley capped off his phenomenal day with a pass breakup.

Postgame, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham paid Daley a high compliment, comparing him to Ute great Hunter Dimick, who totaled 150 tackles (45 for loss) with 29.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in his four-year career.

If you’re being compared to Dimick, you’re doing something right — and Daley has been doing a lot right this season.

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He continued his impressive play against Texas Tech, leading the charge as Utah’s defense kept the Utes in it despite minimal support from their offense.

Daley made his mark near the end of the first quarter, right after Utah turned the ball over. With Texas Tech taking over with favorable field position near midfield, Daley would not be denied, powering through the block by Red Raider offensive tackle Howard Sampson. Sampson had his arm wrapped around Daley’s face, but it didn’t matter — Daley shed the block and rocked Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton, jarring the ball loose.

Though Texas Tech recovered the fumble, the play was a loss of 16 and put the Red Raiders behind the sticks, setting the stage for a three-and-out.

“He’s a tough kid. He just keeps coming at you. He’s a throwback guy. He’s old school. He’s just a grinder,” Whittingham said.

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Pro Football Focus grades Daley as the No. 10 pass rusher in the entire country (minimum 100 snaps), and he’s well on his way to becoming the next “Mayor of Sack Lake City.”

Before he shined at Utah, Daley was starring at Lone Peak High, where he totaled 136 tackles and 37 sacks, including a 22-sack senior season that saw him named to the Deseret News 6A All-State first team.

He signed with BYU out of high school, serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil before returning to Provo ahead of the 2023 season.

Utah recruited Daley to come to Salt Lake City, but the allure of playing with his brother Michael and following in the footsteps of his dad, Neal, was too much to pass up. In his freshman year at BYU, Daley played just 32 snaps while sitting behind starters Tyler Batty and Isaiah Bagnah and decided to enter the transfer portal in the offseason.

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“I wanted a change of scenery and came up to the University of Utah,” Daley said.

The draw of being coached by defensive ends coach Lewis Powell, who has sent eight players to the NFL, was strong.

“I just saw how many guys they were putting year in and year out to the league and the production and all these amazing players and plays that they were making and I wanted to be a part of that,” Daley said.

Ultimately, a spiritual experience guided Daley to Utah.

“Actually what led me here was actually super cool. A very spiritual experience that guided me here, and so I know that Utah’s the place for me,” Daley said.

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Like at BYU, when Daley showed up in Salt Lake City, he again had to wait his turn — this time behind starting defensive ends Logan Fano and Van Fillinger. Daley didn’t play much in 2024, though he registered his first collegiate sack against Southern Utah, but in Utah’s season finale against UCF, he got his first real taste of college football, playing 27 snaps and totaling three tackles and a quarterback hurry.

“It was great getting my feet wet, being able to get out there and make some plays. It was like my first real dose of college football with a couple drives, consistent drives and it was just amazing,” Daley said. “I mean that year, last year, had a lot of great defensive ends. I was just grateful I was part of that group.”

Through working with Powell last season and during spring and fall camp, Daley improved in all aspects of his game, especially his pass rush.

“I definitely feel like my pass rush has gotten much better. I think also just my overall knowledge of the game of certain formations, things to expect, being able to read offensive tackle stances and being able to go through the whole nine yards,” Daley said. “I feel like he’s helped my football IQ increase a ton. And also just confidence in what my abilities are.”

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Daley went through a very competitive spring and fall camp battle for the starting defensive end spot opposite Fano with Washington transfer Lance Holtzclaw, Paul Fitzgerald and freshman Kash Dillon.

Daley’s jump from his redshirt freshman to sophomore season was evident in spring and fall camp.

“How haven’t we seen him improve? He’s improved in every aspect of his game. He’s stronger. He’s a technician. I mean, he’s worked on his fundamentals and his techniques extremely hard,” Whittingham said. “He’s got really good pass rush skills as evidenced by, I think he’s still leading the nation in sacks. He’s a guy that has really, really polished up his game over the last year and really made himself into an exceptional player.”

As good as he’s been this season, Daley still feels like he’s still scratching the surface of what he can be as a player — after all, Wednesday’s game was just his fourth start of his career — and the prospect of even more improvement is tantalizing for Utah.

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“I feel like I can improve on everything in my game. I mean, this really is my first four games of college and so I’m still getting used to it, getting my feet wet,” Daley said. “I mean, I’ve been able to perform pretty well, but I know that I can do a lot better. So it’s definitely the floor, not the ceiling for me.”

More than 400 sports officials from around the country are expected in Salt Lake City this week for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s annual assembly.

The annual gathering of the USOPC, sport national governing bodies, athletes and others associated with Team USA is being held at the Little America Hotel and is set to begin with a dinner Tuesday and end Sunday.

The series of meetings, which include a Town Hall for all participants on Friday, are intended to focus on finalizing preparations ahead of the next Olympics, the 2026 Winter Games that begin in February in Milan and Cortina, Italy.

The assembly is also seen as an “opportunity to build excitement” for Team USA, the USOPC posted, as well as the decade of Olympic and Paralympic sport in the U.S. that include the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles as well as Utah’s next Winter Games, in 2034.

“We’ll use this time to listen, engage and embrace our diverse perspectives, with the goal of emerging as a more unified and collaborative community,” the post said, “so that, together, we can empower American athletes to reach their greatest potential and grow the love of sport in this country.”

Leaders of Utah’s Organizing Committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games also are meeting at the hotel on Wednesday, including with the members of their steering committee who serve as advisers.

Utah’s first lady, Abby Cox, is leading a service project Thursday at the hotel as part of her Show Up initiative. She’ll be joined by organizing committee and USOPC officials as well as Olympic athletes to assemble snack kits for Granite School District students.

The USOPC assembly is usually held in Colorado Springs, where the organization that oversees the Olympics in the U.S. is headquartered. Having the event in Salt Lake City is significant, said Fraser Bullock, the organizing committee’s president and executive chair.

“I think it’s very notable that they’re coming to Utah, to our home, to the future host of the 2034 Games,” Bullock said of the U.S. Olympic community. “This gives us the opportunity to showcase Utah, for them to feel what we feel every day here in Utah.”

He wants them to “get the vibe that this is indeed the state of sport and in particular, that we have extensive programs for our youth. In addition to that, we’ll be talking about all of the events coming to Utah over the next nine months, world cups and various other types of competitions.”

It shows that Utah is “100% in on the partnership with the USOPC to grow sports in the United States” and especially in the state, Bullock said. “Over time, we hope to spread that to the entire country.”

Organizers are planning on using some of the more than $200 million in contributions recently pledged by individuals and foundations in Utah to the 2034 Games to launch youth sports programs.

There’s nothing specific that Utah’s Olympic organizers are looking for from the assembly, Bullock said, noting they’ll provide “a general update” on preparations for the 2034 Games that have been underway since the start of the year.

Hosting a second Winter Games in 2034 is “an Olympic-sized opportunity” for the state, according to a new report released Tuesday by the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

“Few single events in Utah history compare in reach and significance,” states the institute’s second “Keepers of the Flame” report, citing an estimated 15 billion viewer hours of coverage expected during the Olympics and the Paralympics that follow for athletes with disabilities.

That puts pressure on the state to tackle what the report described as “Utah’s Troubling Seven” challenges, just as the 2002 Winter Games pushed officials to deal with problems like I-15 gridlock and the need for more public transportation.

“Even with Utah’s well-documented exceptional economy, our state is changing fast. And even as Utah prospers, serious challenges pose a threat to Utah’s long-term success,” the report warned, but the 2034 Games can serve “as a powerful catalyst to make Utah even better.”

Utah’s seven challenges identified by the institute are:

1. Housing affordability and homelessness. Housing prices grew faster in Utah than anywhere else in the U.S. from 1991 to 2024, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, while the number of Utahns without homes reached a record high this year.
2. Traffic congestion. Delays on Utah roads between June 2016 and January 2025 grew four times faster than the state’s population, based on six-month moving averages.
3. Third grade reading proficiency. Considered “a leading indicator for future educational success,” proficiency remains below 50% statewide
4. College graduation rates. The share of Utah high school graduates enrolling in higher education has dropped in two of the past three years, while half of the state’s eight degree-granting institutions report completion rates below 50%
5. Water and Great Salt Lake. “Lower water levels put at risk the benefits created by the lake and threaten Utah’s long-term economic, ecological, and human health,” the report said, and “represents one of Utah’s greatest international and national reputational risks”
6. Energy supply. Utah, like the rest of the country, is facing increased power demands due to growth, energy intensive industries and artificial intelligence, and the need to replace aging plants
7. Behavioral health. Utah is third in the nation for adults with serious mental illness, and the fourth for those with serious thoughts of suicide, the report said, while the “share of Utah young adults with poor mental health more than doubled in the past 10 years”

Before billions tune into Opening Ceremonies at the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium on Feb. 10, 2034, the 44-page report offers starting points to address those challenges, such as creating a statewide community land trust, as “a quick and effective way to lower housing costs” and prioritizing connected autonomous vehicles to ease traffic congestion.

Other “consequential ideas” to be considered are placing reading pros in K-3 classrooms, expanding career-oriented “catalyst centers” into Salt Lake County, conserving up to 500,000 acre-feet of water annually, investing in a state energy research fund, and aligning behavioral health efforts and investments with Utah’s strategic plan.

Insights in the reports that are intended “to help guide Utah and leverage the Games” begin with a call for the state “to lead with dignity,” in “a time of significant polarization and mean-spirited, sometimes even violent, expression and actions.”

Next is tapping in to Utah’s younger generations, followed by focusing on long-term goals at the community level and catalyzing private innovation and investment, possibly through creating an impact fund that could provide both societal benefits and profits.

Utahns stepped up for the 2002 Games, the report noted, with estimated private and public investments in transportation, resorts, venues, housing, hotels and other areas that were made to benefit the 2002 Games add up to $7.25 billion in 2024 dollars.

While about $4 billion of that amount went to rebuild I-15 and add TRAX light rail lines along with other transportation projects, the list also included spending for ski resort and Salt Palace expansions, new hotels and Olympic venues, and a public safety communications system.

Thanks in large part to the work done in the decades before and after 2002, this time around, Utah can claim seven “major achievements in the state’s economic success story,” the report said. Dubbed “Utah’s Magnificent Seven” achievements, they are:

1. Economic dynamism and diversity. “Utahns have built the most impressive economy in the nation,” the report said, highly diversified with more than double the national average real GDP growth over the past decade
2. High household income and low poverty. Adjusted for regional price parity, Utah’s 2023 household income ranks the nation’s highest while the state’s three-year average poverty rate from 2021 to 2023 is the lowest, at 6.7%
3. Upward mobility. Utah is one of only three states nationwide to hit top levels of upward mobility in every county, according to Opportunity Insights at Harvard University estimates
4. Widespread prosperity. Utah “exhibits the most equal distribution of income in the nation,” according to a Census Bureau measurement
5. Well-trained and educated workforce. Utah had the nation’s third highest share in 2023 of adults aged 25-64 with postsecondary training, including from trade and technical schools
6. Fast growing population and youthfulness. Utah’s population increased 18.4% between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, a faster rate than any state in the nation. With a median age of 32.4 in 2024, Utah also has the nation’s youngest population.
7. Social cohesion. Utah had the highest level of social capital among the state in a 2021 Utah Foundation study of more than 30 measures “in the broad categories of family structure, community participation, and economic mobility.”

The institute’s director, Natalie Gochnour, said the state is positioned to take advantage of another Winter Games.

“The global spotlight of the 2034 Games provides a powerful motivation and deadline for Utah to make strategic investments and pursue innovative solutions to many of our state’s most troubling challenges,” Gochnour said. “By proactively addressing our challenges and building on our strengths, Utah’s Olympic legacy will extend far beyond the Games.”