This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Los Angeles • They asked for it, now they are getting it. The University of Utah, which once had to beg for media attention, will be right in the middle of the Pac-12's media storm that begins Tuesday in Los Angeles.
The Utes, who officially joined the Bowl Championship Series league July 1 along with Colorado, are one of the hottest topics as the 2011 football season looms.
Everyone will want to know if the Utes, who gained a reputation as a BCS buster, can survive in the big leagues.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is adamant his program can, saying all along his team has proved its worth on the field with the Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl wins. But others will wonder if the Utes can duplicate those successes on a regular basis and will predict, analyze and guess as to what the future holds for the Utes in 2011.
Make no mistake, the Utes are no longer the little program in the shadows, but the one under the microscope.
"Utah will most definitely be one of the most intriguing storylines in college football this fall," said Mitch Light, the editor of Athlon Sports. "All of us that follow the game respect what teams like Utah, Boise State and TCU have done in recent years but wonder aloud how these teams would handle the week-to-week grind of a BCS conference schedule. Utah will now have an opportunity to prove that it can survive a more challenging schedule."
But before the Utes can show their worth on the field, they're going to have to talk about it, a lot.
Just as it did last year, the Pac-12 has planned a three-day media tour designed to put the conference and its teams on the front pages of sports sections across the country. The exposure is all part of the grand plan of Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, who is determined to help the league gain some of the ground it has lost in recent years to other BCS leagues.
The time in the spotlight starts at FOX Studios on Tuesday during the Pac-12's meet-and-greet session with media representatives.
Whittingham and offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom will represent the Utes in a 1 p.m. session that will be video streamed live by the league on pac-12.org.
After Tuesday's sessions, Whittingham and the rest of the Pac-12 coaches will join Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott on an East Coast swing.
The coaches will be featured on ESPN's "Car Wash" on Wednesday, with Whittingham's first taped segment airing at 7:10 a.m. on ESPN Rise. His first live appearance will be on First Take on ESPN2 at 9:20 a.m.
After the ESPN duties in Bristol, Conn., the coaches will head to New York City for more media appearances.
The three-day tour is just a taste of what the Utes can expect in the Pac-12, a league in which there is no hiding from media attention.
If any team is poised to make the jump successfully in both areas it is Utah, believes AJ Maestas, the president of Navigate Marketing, a Chicago-based marketing group, which conducts research and analysis in sports and entertainment and has helped the Utes craft some of their multimedia packages.
"They're in a good place," Maestas said. "They've got a good support staff, they've got the right coach and the right AD. We'll see if they have the right basketball coach, too, in a few seasons, but right now they look like they're in a wonderful place."
It's a wonderful place, all right, for the Utes. They're a team that's in and no longer a team looking in from the outside.
lwodraska@sltrib.comTwitter: @lyawodraska
Media Blitz Highlights
Tuesday • Pac-12 Media Day with live video streaming on pac-12.org. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham and lineman Tony Bergstrom are scheduled to appear at 1 p.m.
Wednesday • ESPN shows and tapings, first live appearance for Whittingham is on First Take on ESPN2 at 9:20 a.m.
Wednesday • Whittingham will participate in a Twitter chat at 11:50 a.m.