University of Utah extends accord with Ute tribe to use Utes name for sports teams

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The University of Utah extended its agreement with the Ute Indian Tribe to use the Utes name for its athletic teams into 2031.
• The agreement creates scholarship opportunities for Ute students and provides the tribe with $100,000 per year for educational initiatives.
• Through the agreements, the U. stresses its intent to use the Utes name respectfully and treat the tribe with dignity.

SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah has extended its formal agreement with the Ute Indian Tribe related to use of the Utes name for the university's athletic teams.

The new accord, announced Friday, extends a formal agreement that dates back to 2003 for another five years, through August of 2031. The U. has had "the full support of the tribe" to use the Utes name since 1972, according to the university.

"This is a unique partnership in higher education," Lori McDonald, vice president of student affairs at the U., said in a statement. "This agreement is a wonderful example of how a state university can work in collaboration with a sovereign nation to support each other."

Sports teams' use of Native American tribe names and related terminology has become an increasing focus of debate across the country. Some view such naming as demeaning, though the University of Utah, through its agreements, stresses its intent to use the name respectfully and to treat the Ute Tribe with dignity.

"It is a tremendous honor to use the Ute name for our athletics programs, and we are grateful for the special relationship that has been cultivated over many years," University of Utah athletics director Mark Harlan said in a statement. "We also understand the significant responsibility that comes with that to honor the Ute Indian Tribe and we look forward to carrying the name forward with understanding and respect toward our state's namesake people."

Per the new memorandum of understanding, the university will keep paying the Ute Indian Tribe $100,000 a year over the next five years to support Ute educational initiatives. Moreover, the university will increase potential scholarship funding to eligible Ute students from $8,000 a year per student to $18,000 per year. Scholarships will no longer be determined strictly by formal Ute Tribe membership, defined "by a 5/8 'blood quantum' rule," the U. said, but will also include their descendants.

Fourteen students qualified for the scholarship for the 2026-2027 school year, up from three last year. Around 120 Native American, American Indian or Alaskan Native students in all currently attend the U., including the Ute students, according to the university.

The accord also contains a new pledge from the university to send its mobile health clinics to the Ute Indian Reservation as many as three times per year.

The university statement didn't include any comments from Ute representatives. The new accord was inked by Mitzi Montoya, the U.'s executive vice president for academic affairs, and Shaun Chapoose, the Ute Indian Tribe's business committee chairman.

The Ute Indian Tribe is the namesake for Utah. According to the tribe's website, tribal membership totals 2,400, and the Uintah and Ouray reservation they inhabit, headquartered in Fort Duchesne, is located in the Uinta Basin in northeastern Utah.

The University of Utah also operates the Center for Native Excellence and Tribal Engagement to support Native American students, and last week, it formally announced creation of a 12-bed residential facility for Native American students. It also runs a scholarship program for members of Utah's other federally recognized tribes, the Native Student Scholarship.

"The university commits to provide academic support to Ute Indian Tribe students and their families with the application and admissions process and once students are on campus to enhance their social, economic and academic success," Friday's statement reads.

The university will also continue its Ute Proud campaign to disseminate information about the Ute culture and history. The university designates one University of Utah football game each season as a Ute Proud game to honor the community.

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

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Utah higher educationSportsEducationSalt Lake CountyUtah

Tim Vandenack

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Tim Vandenack covers immigration, multicultural issues and Northern Utah for KSL. He worked several years for the Standard-Examiner in Ogden and has lived and reported in Mexico, Chile and along the U.S.-Mexico border.