A sold-out crowd of 15,558 fans packed the Jon M. Huntsman Center for the Runnin’ Utes showdown versus No. 9 BYU on Saturday.
Fans were cheering. Seats were filled.
“That’s the way that place has been for decades,” Runnin’ Ute head coach Alex Jensen said after Utah’s 89-84 loss to the Cougars.
But it has become an increasingly rare sight for the University of Utah’s home arena. The 56-year-old venue’s red seats often sit empty for Utah men’s and women’s basketball games. Only the Utah gymnastics team, the Red Rocks, consistently fills the venue.
But on a rare occasion, the Huntsman Center returns to its former glory as a basketball venue.
“I played here and there’s nothing like it,” Jensen said after Saturday’s game. “I don’t think there’s a better place. We tell recruits and people all the time, they built a 15,000-seat arena in the ′70s for a reason. So, for me, it’s hard, because we play [No. 1 Arizona] and it’s half full. I kind of have a hard time comprehending that.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes forward James Okonkwo (32) makes a dunk as Utah hosts BYU, NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.
BYU superstar and No. 1 recruit AJ Dybantsa said that last weekend’s game in Salt Lake City provided the “most hostile” environment he’s played in since his high school days. He finished the Cougars’ win with 20 points and six rebounds.
“Boy, that was crazy. That was super hostile,” Dybantsa said. “ That’s probably like the most hostile environment I’ve been in. It was really a welcome to the Big 12 moment.”
Utah forward James Okonkwo said the atmosphere is “just different” with a packed house.
“I think that’s the most that we’ve had this year, and you could definitely feel the energy was different,” he said.
Last year, the U. said it was considering a plan to tear down the Huntsman Center and build a new arena. Utah Athletic Director Mark Harlan, however, recently said the U. might shift its focus to a potential renovation of Utah’s historic venue.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Fans cheer on the Utah men’s basketball team as they take on Kansas at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, in Salt Lake City.
“We’re still trying to look through and say, ‘Do we move it, or do we renovate it?’” Harlan said. “I think this year is the year for us to make some decisions on that.”
Maybe a renovated, downsized Huntsman Center would address some of Utah’s attendance issues. But Jensen chalks it up to something simpler.
“We’re not building something from nothing,” Jensen said. “Like it’s there. So winning helps that, and I think that’s the direction we’re going.”