BYU, Utah Finalize Deseret First Duel Series in Basketball and Football

PROVO -- Brigham Young University and the University of Utah today announced the two schools have agreed to a home-and-home series for football and men’s basketball beginning with the 2011-12 season.

The Deseret First Duel will continue in football with two games announced for 2011 and 2012. The Cougars will host the Utes on Sept. 17, 2011 at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. Utah will host the second game of the series on Sept. 15, 2012 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City.

BYU and Utah have signed a four-year home-and-home series in men’s basketball featuring one game each year on the second Saturday of December. The first game is scheduled for Dec. 10, 2011 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

The Deseret First Duel rivalry series between Utah and BYU will continue in other sports as well. Those schedules are still in the development process.

“We are pleased to announce the Deseret First Duel rivalry games will continue with Utah,” said BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe. “The BYU-Utah rivalry is one of the best in the country and is very important to the fans of both schools."

“We are excited to continue our rivalry with BYU in football and men’s basketball and our other sports are busy working out the logistics to make it happen as well,” said Utah Director of Athletics Dr. Chris Hill. “It is an important rivalry to our fans and to everyone involved with Utah athletics.”

The two institutions will compete in the Mountain West Conference for the final time during the 2010-11 season. In 2011 Utah will join the Pac-10, while BYU will go independent in football and join the West Coast Conference in the majority of its other sports.

The in-state rivalry goes back more than 100 years, with the first recorded athletic events — track and baseball — held in 1895. The two universities have been in the same conference since 1906, when they belonged to the Utah Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

With the exception of the war years, from 1943-45, the two schools have faced each other in football every year since 1922. In the 85 football contests since 1922, Utah holds a 50-31-4 advantage over BYU. The basketball teams have met 250 times since the first meeting on January 23, 1909 in Provo. Amazingly, the overall series record is currently tied at 125-125.