This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

Utah's gymnastics team is placing a big emphasis on doing well on the road because all their championships are away from the cozy confines of the Huntsman Center — or so they thought.

The Utes, who compete at Washington on Saturday, will host the 2015 Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships after all, league officials announced on Thursday.

Arizona State was scheduled to hold the event March 21, but it is being re-located to Utah's Huntsman Center because ASU could have a scheduling conflict with the first and second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

For the first time, the top 16 seeds in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament will host the first and second-round games. The No. 12 ASU team could be in a position to host, prompting the decision to move the event, which must be held on campus per NCAA rules.

Utah was awarded the Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships by a vote of the league's senior administrators.

"It has been a whirlwind 24 hours to make sure we had the staff, facilities and hotels but we can pull it together," Utah coach Greg Marsden said. "It is a tight turnaround with it being just four weeks away but we are fortunate to get the kind of support we do from our fans and staff. Everyone is jumping on board to make this happen."

Utah season ticket holders and Crimson Club members may begin reserving tickets online on Monday or through their account representative on Tuesday. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Wed., Feb. 25.

The Utes hosted the first Pac-12 Championships in 2012, finishing second behind UCLA. That event drew a Pac-12 record crowd of 19,734 fans over the two sessions.

The Utes won the title last season at Cal, becoming the first Utah program to win a Pac-12 championship.

While hosting certainly gives the Utes a home crowd advantage, it also puts more pressure on the Utes, but Marsden said his team is ready for it.

"It is high risk, high reward and if you aren't ready for that kind of stuff you need to get out of the business," he said. "These are the types of opportunities you embrace and this will be a great opportunity for our fans and our team."

The 2012 team seemed to succumb to that pressure, but so far the 2015 Utes look prepared to handle it. Utah, (7-0, 3-0) has yet to count a fall this season and has been very strong on the balance beam, the event that has doomed it in recent championships.

The Utes are ranked third nationally, averaging 197.195, while the next highest-ranked Pac-12 team is Oregon State at No. 10 with a 195.985 average.

"This is a great opportunity," Marsden said.