Utah News

The Stars and Stripes are currently flying above the landmark Black Rock at the Great Salt Lake, but state officials don’t know who put them there.

A flagpole was erected on distinctive Black Rock sometime last week, and the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands is investigating the unpermitted installation. The flagpole flies the American flag, and appears to have a concrete base and lighting attached, according to a photo from the division.

The agency is working to figure out what it will do with the flagpole, said Karl Hunt, public affairs officer for the division, adding that he was unsure of the exact date that law enforcement officers noticed the pole.

Black Rock is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a “valuable waypoint” for travelers crossing the Great Basin on the California Trail in the 19th century, according to a news release from the division.

The division protects the area as an important historical resource, the release added, and constructing structures on state land without a permit or altering any historical resource is against state law.

Individuals who break the law could be subject to a class B misdemeanor and civil damages, according to Utah state code.

“The issue is not about the flag but the flagpole that was installed into Black Rock,” the division said in a statement.

“The division respects the desire to display the flag but needs to ensure it is done so in a proper and legal manner,” it continued. “This flag has generated a lot of public interest, and we appreciate the dialogue around it. We are working to find an appropriate solution while protecting the historical importance of the site.”

Over the summer, Utah Republican Sen. John Curtis introduced legislation to ensure the American flag could fly permanently at another Utah landmark — the top of Khyv Peak in Provo.

The proposal came after one Utahn reinstalled an American flag each year for nearly two decades on top of the mountain, and was more recently told that his actions were prohibited by the Forest Service, according to a news release from Curtis’ office.

Utah quarterback Devon Dampier was not up to standard in a 34-10 loss to Texas Tech this past Saturday, throwing two interceptions and averaging just 2.5 yards per carry — a career low. There was a reason for the rough outing: Coach Kyle Whittingham revealed Monday that Dampier had been dealing with an injury, despite not being listed on the availability reports last week.

“He was doing the best he could,” Whittingham said. “Wasn’t able to practice Tuesday or Wednesday, a little bit Thursday. I’m going to tell you it definitely impacted Devon, but if you’re out there, you got to get it done. So we never use that as an excuse.”

Dampier sustained an ankle injury during Utah’s Week 3 road game at Wyoming, analyst Joel Klatt noted on Saturday’s broadcast. He was also reportedly seen limping after that contest. The injury kept him from fully participating in Utah’s normal padded practices, limiting his preparation for the Big 12 opener against the Red Raiders.

The 2025 season marks the first year of formal Big 12 player availability reports, following the lead of the ACC, Big Ten and SEC. Under the new rules, programs must submit daily reports starting three days before each game, with a final update 90 minutes before kickoff, listing players as available, probable, questionable, doubtful or out. 

Big 12 to mandate player availability reports for football, basketball starting in 2025-26

Cody Nagel

Although Dampier missed multiple practices, he was not listed on Utah’s availability report last week before making his fourth start for the Utes.

Despite the setback, Whittingham emphasized that Dampier’s current condition is improving when asked if the injury could be a long-term concern.

“We hope not,” Whittingham said. “But again, we never discuss injuries here other than the injury report, so we will just have to see how it goes. I think he’s in a better place. Well, I know he’s in a better place right now on Monday than he was last Monday, so that bodes well.”

Dampier completed 25 of 38 passes for 162 yards in the loss. Utah’s lone big play came on the first snap of their only touchdown drive, when Dampier connected with Dallen Bentley for a 44-yard gain. That score brought the Utes within 13-10 with 10:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, before Texas Tech pulled away with three unanswered touchdowns to close out the game.

Through the first three games of the season, Dampier had completed 73% of his passes for 628 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception. He had also added 198 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground, showing the dual-threat ability that makes him Utah’s centerpiece on offense.

“(We) believe in him completely and he’s without a doubt our quarterback and you can’t panic off one game that was not up to par,” Whittingham said. “And again, we already talked about another reason why that may have been. … I don’t think one subpar game is fair to judge him off that. The first three games he was pretty darn good.”

Utah is on the road at West Virginia this Saturday.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham confirmed on Monday that Ute quarterback Devon Dampier missed two days of practice last week — Tuesday and Wednesday — with an injury, and practiced “a little bit” on Thursday.

Despite an ankle injury holding him out of practice, Dampier did not appear on any of Utah’s availability reports throughout the week leading up to Saturday’s contest against Texas Tech.

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This season, the Big 12 mandated availability reports for all conference football games, starting three days before game day and continuing daily.

For a Saturday game, the first availability report is due Wednesday night, with additional reports coming out on Thursday night and Friday night.

The final injury report is released 90 minutes before kickoff.

In a statement released Monday night by the school, Whittingham explained why Utah did not list Dampier on the availability report despite his injury.

“Quarterback Devon Dampier did not appear on last week’s player availability report because while he was limited in practice early in the week, his status of playing in last Saturday’s game vs. Texas Tech was never in question.

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“We have spoken to the conference and have clarified the guidelines moving forward.”

In the Big 12 player availability policy , the conference outlined the requirements for the availability reports.

“When an institution becomes aware that a student-athlete may be unable to participate in an upcoming game for any reason (including, but not limited to, injury, illness, suspension, ineligibility, or personal matters), it is required to accurately indicate the student-athlete’s participation status on the Initial Report as outlined below. “Participation status” means only the student-athlete’s name and their expected ability to participate in the upcoming game, using the categories set forth in this policy, and does not include medical diagnoses, treatment plans, or underlying personal details.”

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Here is the section titled “Player Participation Status Categories for the Initial Reports”

Utah’s argument is that because Dampier was always expected to play, despite the injury, that his exclusion from the availability report would fall within Big 12 guidelines.

“My availability was never in question,” Dampier said.

Whittingham said last Tuesday that Utah’s training staff would fill out the daily availability reports.

“I’m not a doctor. I wouldn’t make those decisions, who plays, who doesn’t, who’s doubtful, questionable, all that stuff. But the trainer will have that out,” Whittingham said.

Texas Tech had 14 players on its initial availability report, with four different designations as outlined by the Big 12 — out, doubtful, questionable and probable. Utah had four players listed in the “out” section and nothing else.

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On Thursday, Utah added defensive tackle Karson Kaufusi to its report under “doubtful,” and on Friday, he was moved to “out.” No other changes were made in the report released 90 minutes before kickoff.

Dampier started in Utah’s 34-10 loss to Texas Tech. He threw for 162 yards and two interceptions on 66% completion. The dual-threat quarterback was shut down by the Red Raiders on the ground, as Texas Tech limited him to 27 yards on 11 rushing attempts.

“I’m going to tell you that it (the injury) definitely impacted Devon, but if you’re out there, you got to get it done, and so we never use that as an excuse,” Whittingham said.

Is there any concern that Dampier’s injury is long-term?

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“We hope not, but again, we never discuss injuries here other than the injury report, so we will just have to see how it goes,” Whittingham said. “I think he’s in a better place. Well, I know he’s in a better place right now on Monday than he was last Monday, so that bodes well.”

Dampier was asked about how he is feeling health-wise after Monday’s install day — the Utes don’t have a padded practice to start the week — and responded “great.”

Utah continues Big 12 play at West Virginia on Saturday.

“Now it’s on to West Virginia. Let’s go attack it,” Dampier said.

Not only has Texas Tech built the best team money can buy in the Big 12, it might be the most comprehensive in school history, capable of more than just hanging half a hundred on you.

These are not Mike Leach’s Red Raiders.

This is different.

Consider the testimony of Kyle Whittingham after a 34-10 humiliation in his own house. Utah had rebuilt its street cred after a rare losing season on the basis of its offensive line, the best Whittingham says he’s had in 20 years, boasting two first-round prospects. Twinned up nicely with the nation’s 10th-ranked defense going in.

Get this: Tech dominated both sides of the ball.

“I never would have believed we’d lose the line of scrimmage,” Whittingham said after they ran for just 101 yards and gave up 484 yards total offense. “Never would have believed that in a million years.

“But we did.”

This is what happens when you spend $25 million on your roster and coach it up. Imagine what it might have been if the Raiders hadn’t been flagged 14 times for 122 yards.

And to think they did most of their damage with their backup quarterback, Will Hammond, who threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the second half after Behren Morton was injured.

Tech has never won a Big 12 title and hasn’t finished in the rankings since Leach’s last year in 2009, but the Raiders put themselves in the pole position with their win over the Utes.

They’ve also creeped ahead of Texas in the Best in Texas rankings despite the Longhorns’ stampede over Sam Houston. Arch Manning looked like his old self in a 55-0 win. Question remains, can he look the same when picking on someone his own size?

In other Best in Texas news, North Texas continues its climb after holding on to beat Army on the road, Baylor continues to baffle with a loss at home to Arizona State and the top-ranked Aggies get ready to start SEC play.

1. Texas A&M (3-0)

Notre Dame helps Aggies’ metrics with big bounceback win over Purdue.

Last: idle.

Next: Auburn on Saturday.

2. Texas Tech (4-0)

Big win over Utah, but another big hit on Behren Morton.

Last: 34-10 win over Utah.

Next: at Houston on Oct. 4.

3. Texas (3-1)

Dissatisfied with dismantling Sam Houston, Arch Manning pulls down Big Sam’s statue outside Huntsville.

Last: 55-0 win over Sam Houston.

Next: at Florida on Oct. 4.

4. TCU (3-0)

Frogs win final Iron Skillet game, return trophy to Ace True Value Hardware store for refund.

Last: 35-24 win over SMU.

Next: at Arizona State on Friday.

5. Houston (3-0)

Coogs get another week to enjoy lofty ranking until Texas Tech comes to H-town on Oct. 4. Last: idle. Next: Oregon State on Friday.

6. Baylor (2-2)

Good news: The coach who will occupy the other sideline is on a hotter seat than Dave Aranda’s.

Last: 27-24 loss to Arizona State.

Next: Oklahoma State on Saturday.

7. North Texas (4-0)

Mean Green going for first 5-0 start since Hayden Fry coached them.

Last: 45-38 OT win over Army.

Next: South Alabama on Saturday.

8. SMU (2-2)

If Kevin Jennings overcomes the Mustangs’ defense, he deserves the Heisman.

Last: 35-24 loss to TCU.

Next: Syracuse on Oct. 4.

9. Texas State (3-1)

The school formerly known as Southwest Texas State wins Battle of the Paddle over the school formerly known as Nicholls State.

Last: 35-3 win over Nicholls.

Next: at Arkansas State on Oct. 4.

10. UTSA (2-2)

Robert Henry Jr. keeps rolling, runs up 144 yards in a squeaker.

Last: 17-16 win over Colorado State.

Next: at Temple on Oct. 4.

11. Rice (3-1)

Good news: Scott Abell becomes first Owls coach since Bo Hagan to start his debut season 3-1. Bad news: Bo finished the 1967 season 4-6.

Last: 28-17 win at Charlotte.

Next: at Navy on Saturday.

12. UTEP (1-3)

Holding Texas to 27 points may prove to be season highlight.

Last: 31-25 loss to Louisiana-Monroe.

Next: Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

13. Sam Houston (0-4)

Bearkats restore Texas fans’ faith in Arch for at least a week.

Last: 55-0 loss to Texas.

Next: at New Mexico State on Oct. 2.

Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN

Find more college sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Utah lawmakers released five options for new congressional maps ahead of a meeting scheduled for Monday morning, part of a court-ordered overhaul of the state’s four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Legislature’s redistricting commission is scheduled to hold its first meeting Monday morning at 9 a.m. in Room 120 of the Utah Senate building. It will also be available via a live stream.

The lawmakers, based on a recent court order, have until September 25 to adopt the committee’s draft of a new map, which will then have 10 days of public comment before it receives a vote during a special legislative session. It then must be submitted to the court for approval.

Lawmakers are drawing new congressional boundaries after Judge Dianna Gibson ruled last month that the Legislature should not have been allowed — based on a Utah Supreme Court ruling last year — to discard the redistricting standards created in 2018’s Proposition 4.

With the proposition reinstated, Gibson ruled, the maps that have been in place since the 2022 election no longer meet the initiative’s requirements and are prohibited from being used in the 2026 election.

Better Boundaries, the group that pushed the 2018 initiative, has not taken a position on any of the five maps released by the Legislature so far.

But the group’s executive director, Elizabeth Rasmussen, said they are “encouraged that the Legislature is moving this process forward and urge Utahns to review the maps and take part in the public hearings this week.”

“Public participation keeps this process true to the principle that voters should choose their politicians, not the other way around,” she said.

The chief difference between the five maps released so far and the existing congressional boundaries is that Salt Lake County, where many of Utah’s Democrats reside, is less divided. The Legislature’s maps adopted in 2021 split the county into four different congressional districts.

While Salt Lake County has too many people to fit into one district, none of the five proposed maps cut Salt Lake County more than once.

Three of the maps create an east-west divide of the county, pairing it with districts in rural counties. Option D creates more of a north-south split in Salt Lake County, creating a compact District 4 covering southern Salt Lake County and northern Utah County.

Option E creates a district that combines the eastern portion of Salt Lake County with Davis County.

To ensure that country clerks are prepared for next year’s midterm elections, and so candidates can register in time, the state’s top elections official, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, said the new maps will need to be in place by November 10.

The ten-member redistricting committee includes: Co-chairs Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, and Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Riverton; Sens. Lincoln Fillmore, Don Ipson, Mike McKell and Luz Escamilla (the sole Senate Democrat); and Reps. Walt Brooks, Stephanie Gricius, Calvin Roberts and Rep. Doug Owens (the only House Democrat).

See the five proposed congressional maps — or even leave a comment on the maps — here:

Option A

Option B

Option C

Option D

Option E