This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Baylor announced Wednesday afternoon that Utah and Baylor have signed a two-year deal to play a home and home in 2023 and 2024, with the front end set for Sept. 16 2023 at McLane Stadium and the return leg Sept. 14, 2014 at Rice-Eccles.
The two teams have never met.
Deputy athletic director Kyle Brennan told The Tribune that Baylor approached Utah with the idea, and Utah decided that even though that's eight years away, it'll be "an excellent opportunity to play a great opponent and be in the state of Texas, which is always important to us."
The Big 12 champions finished 11-2 last year and have been to five consecutive bowl games. Their most recent Pac-12 series came in 2006 and 2008, against Washington State.
Utah's last game against a Big 12 program came in 2010, when they won at Iowa State 68-27. Utah is 9-14 all-time against the Big 12.
Brennan said the location — 13 players on last year's roster hailed from Texas — will be a boon to recruiting.
The 2011 Sun Bowl was Utah's last trip to Texas. In-season, Utah hasn't visited the Lone Star State since a 2009 loss to TCU.
There are few holes in Utah's schedule for the near future.
The next vacant spot is in 2019. If Utah were to schedule BYU, that'd mean they're booked through 2020, barring a buyout.
Athletic director Chris Hill told media Wednesday that he sees little reason to schedule BYU late in the season, which may complicate matters.
Emails between Hill and BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe shed light on the discussion in February.
Utah's known future out-of-conference opponents are as follows:
2015 • Michigan, Utah State, at Fresno State
2016 • Southern Utah, BYU, at San Jose State
2017 • North Dakota, at BYU, San Jose State
2018 • Weber State, at Northern Illinois, BYU
2019 • Idaho State, Northern Illinois
2023 • at Baylor
2024 • Baylor
— Matthew Piper
Twitter: @matthew_piper