College football
What is a ute? University of Utah’s team name
We take a look at what a ‘Ute’ is and why that’s the University of Utah’s mascot.
Have you always wanted to discover what a ‘Ute’ is? Well, you have come to the right place.
Why are the University of Utah’s athletic teams known as the ‘Utes’?
The Utes were a Native American Indian tribe that the state of Utah was named after. They inhabited the region where the state is located for over 1,000 years. According to information on the university’s web page the tribe was one of the first to use horses as a means of transportation, which can be seen in rock writing that the Utes had left behind hundreds of years ago.
The Ute tribe is still present in the state with its tribal headquarters located in Fort Duchesne, Utah. The tribe has its own government and over 3,300 members. The University of Utah uses the name to honor the tradition of the Ute tribe, while the university’s mascot represents the red-tailed hawk, a bird that is indigenous to the state of Utah.