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Utah athletic director Chris Hill thought about going in through the regular gates at the Huntsman Center before a recent gymnastics meet against Oregon State.

But he changed his mind when he saw a mass of waiting fans at the doors and instead took the back door route, entering through the tunnel where the teams enter the arena.

An athletic director sneaking into his own building? For a gymnastics meet? It might seem like a ridiculous idea, but those who follow Utah gymnastics know all about the big crowds the Utes play to.

The Utes have averaged more than 14,000 fans for the past six seasons. The meet against Oregon State ­— a Saturday afternoon affair — drew an official attendance of 15,550, when the fire marshall decided that was the limit.

A similar situation occurred last season when 16,019 fans packed into the arena to watch the meet against Michigan.

Fans who don't make it into meets are given ticket vouchers for a future meet, but the Utes don't like the idea of turning away fans, knowing the inconvenience could be bad for business.

This, of course begs the question: What to do about one of the most well-attended winter sporting events in the city? Is it time for Utah to raise gymnastics ticket prices? Could the Ute gymnastics become one of those rare programs that contribute to a school's budget, rather than suck away funds?

If your hand just slid to your wallet in a protective gesture, relax. The Utes aren't interested in raising ticket rates — at least not yet. Both Utah coach Megan Marsden and Hill are against that idea.

"I would fight that tooth and nail," Marsden said. "One of our best marketing tools is that we are one of the best shows in town but we don't cost that much."

Hill is mindful of that reputation too, and also doesn't want to come across as another greedy athletic director trying to squeeze more dollars out of loyal fans. That gymnastics is more of a family based crowd doesn't escape his notice either.

"There is a certain amount of good will that comes with gymnastics," he said. "You are always looking at opportunities when it comes to budgetary issues and how things could help move that dial, but there is a saying too, when you have a no hitter going, you don't mess with it."

The Utes certainly seem to be hitting home runs with fans, even with the departure of legendary coach Greg Marsden, who retired from 40 years of coaching at the end of the 2015 season.

His dedication and efforts in marketing the Utes have been well documented. However, often there is a natural dip in attendance when a figurehead such as Marsden was leaves a sport.

That hasn't happened with the Utes. They sold a program record 7,266 season tickets prior to their season opener against BYU, and are up to 7,315 now while single meet ticket sales have led to the packed stands.

"I don't know if anybody has passed on a program as well as Greg has," Hill said. "He left a blue print on how to keep this program going and left it in great shape, and they are still looking for new things to do."

So the attendance is there, what about the profit margin? That's an area the Utes might examine going forward.

The next push is and will be to continue to sell more season tickets. Season ticket holders not only are guaranteed seats, but it represents guaranteed money for the school.

"That is where the real revenue comes from," Hill said.

It's revenue that conceivably could make gymnastics a self-supporting sport one day, depending on how one does the math.

One reason gymnastics isn't a more popular program among schools is the expense. The unique equipment makes it an expensive sport to not only maintain, but to set up and tear down or events. Having just 12 scholarships doesn't give schools much of a bang for their buck, either, when trying to maintain certain scholarship numbers to meet Title IX requirements.

However, Utah already is on its way to being self-sufficient in one aspect: all of its scholarships are fully funded by donors, saving the school about an average of $20,000-$30,000 per scholarship.

The Utes also make about $400,000 every year in ticket sales for their five-to-six home meets. In comparison, men's basketball makes about $150,000 per game.

The gymnastics numbers are good and the Utes believe they can be even better in the future, but Hill hesitates when asked if gymnastics can ever pay for itself.

Sports are expensive to maintain at the Division I level. For instance, the ticket revenue wouldn't even cover the coaching salaries which are about $531,000 for the five members of the staff.

It's also hard to determine how expenses are allocated for such things as trainers, support staff, marketing and other expenses shared by other sports.

"That is why we focus on season tickets," Hill said. "That is a number you can quantify, and the bottom line is gymnastics generates the third most ticket revenue behind football and men's basketball."

To help with the ticket crunch, Jennifer White, Utah's Director of Marketing, encourages fans to purchase reserved seats ahead of meets or, better yet, buy a 3-meet pack that is good for the Utes' remaining meets for just $24. Those who redeem coupons for the upper bowl are encouraged to get their tickets online and show up early.

"We are trying to avoid having that rush," she said. "Next year we are considering making them only online redemption to help protect against the overflow issues."

For now the Utes will keep packing in the arena, enjoying the type of problem that is good to have. —

Utah gymnastics ticket breakdown

Season tickets sold • 7,315

Tickets available • The Utes have a 3-pack ticket package for $24 for reserved seating for the final three meets; single reserved tickets are available for the upper bowl for $8 while some single meet reserved tickets are available in the lower bowl for $10-30.

Coupon redemption • Fans who have general admission coupons are encouraged to redeem their coupons online and arrive at the meets early. —

Utes' remaining home schedule

Mon. • Arizona, 6 p.m.

Feb. 13 • Washington, 7 p.m.

March 12 • Georgia, 5 p.m.

*April 2 • NCAA Regional

*NCAA competition tickets are not included in ticket packages