This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Dennis Erickson has no use for a recliner, or a TV, or a camera.
Utah's running backs coach has received more bowl game gifts than he can count on two hands, and after surveying the options displayed by Las Vegas Bowl representatives at the U.'s football facility Friday, Erickson said he'd choose the remote-control helicopter, for his grandson.
Or maybe for himself, he joked.
As Erickson knows well, when it comes to bowl games, to both participants go the spoils.
Scholarship players, walk-ons and just about everybody who spends significant time under the roof of the Eccles Football Center all received six "points" to spend on a variety of showy items.
Most popular, said Vegas Bowl executive director John Saccenti, was the recliner, which cost all six.
Some players wished they'd been offered a game system, like a PS4 or an XBox One, and traded their points to teammates for bowl game tickets.
Others, like Erickson, used the opportunity to do some Christmas shopping, or called their wives and girlfriends to describe the items to hear their preference.
All got a backpack, a baseball cap, a beanie and a T-shirt.
It's not nothing for players who live on little more than $200 per week — or less, in the case of the walk-ons.
And as showgirls posed for photos with passersby in the upstairs hallway, the bustling facility was a reminder of the ultimate reward for Utah's 8-4 record:
A longer season.
More practices.
More money.
And momentum.
Coaching carousel • With all eyes on Kyle Whittingham, Kalani Sitake, Matt Wells and Bronco Mendenhall, it was Salt Lake City native Gary Andersen who made the week's most stunning move, leaving Wisconsin for the job vacated by Mike Riley at Oregon State.
Friday, Whittingham declined to comment on the impetus for Andersen's decision, or a Chicago Tribune report that some felt Andersen's eye was on Utah's top job.
A source close to Andersen told The Tribune there is credence to speculation that Andersen felt restricted by rigorous academic standards and low assistant coach pay in Madison.
All Whittingham would say is that Andersen, whom he talks to regularly, is a close friend, and "I'm excited that he's back out this way."
Utah athletic director Chris Hill said on 1280 The Zone last week that he had an "inkling" that Andersen might be on the market.
Pressed for details by The Tribune, Hill said simply, "You just hear things."
Hill also told 1280 that he'd reached an agreement with a Utah assistant. It's natural to assume that he was talking about Sitake, who has a reputation as an excellent defensive coordinator and recruiter and is thought to be a potential head coaching candidate. But Hill didn't elaborate on that point, either.
All Hill would tell The Tribune is that the agreement, at this point, is verbal.
Sold out, sort of • Utah Athletics announced Friday evening that the school sold out its allotment of 7,500 tickets for the bowl, and that they also sold 1,600 tickets to the men's basketball game against UNLV later that night at the MGM Grand.
Tickets are still available, however, at lvbowl.com.
Twitter: @matthew_piper —
Las Vegas Bowl
O Utah vs. Colorado St. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. TV • Ch. 4