Sports Teams

Sports enthusiasts find plenty of exciting year-round athletic action throughout the state of Utah! Basketball fans may watch the NBA's Utah Jazz in action at the EnergySolutions Arena, or the Flash NBA-D Team . Utah also has 2009 Major League Soccer Cup champion Real Salt Lake .

The Utah Jazz is on a roll, playing some of the most exciting basketball in the NBA. Young, hungry and deep, the team includes rising stars Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko.

Head coach Jerry Sloan has one of the best records in the NBA and he is building a team for the future - the Jazz are serious contenders in the NBA Western Conference.

The Jazz has a winning tradition, built by some of best players ever, including the now-retired hall-of-fame duo of point guard John Stockton and power forward Karl Malone.

Utah fans are noisy. They get into the game and make each contest a memorable event.

The team was born in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz before moving to Salt Lake City in 1980. They struggled through a decade at the bottom, before emerging as perennial contenders in the late 1980s, reaching the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998, losing both times to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.

Throughout its history, the Jazz roster has included notable players including high-scoring Hall of Famer "Pistol Pete" Maravich, one of the most entertaining players in NBA history. In its later incarnation as the Utah Jazz, the team's main drawing cards have been scoring machine Adrian Dantley, and Darrell Griffith, basketball's "Dr. Dunkenstein." The team enjoyed an era of near invincibility under the leadership of Stockton and Malone. Stockton is the NBA's all-time assists leader, whom many consider the best passer ever to play the game. Malone is a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player who averaged 25.0 points per game during his 19-year career.

The EnergySolutions Arena, home of the Utah Jazz, is located just west of downtown Salt Lake City, approximately 10 minutes from the Salt Lake International Airport, at 301 West South Temple. It is two blocks from the Salt Palace Convention Center and Temple Square. The Will Call window is located in the main ticket lobby, one flight below the street level, on northeast side of the arena.

http://www.nba.com/jazz/

Ticket prices and availability info:
Utah Jazz
(801) 355-DUNK
EnergySolutions Arena
301 West South Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Ice hockey fans can watch the ECHL Utah Grizzlies at The "E" Center, Utah's newest entertainment center. Utah is also home to the the AAA Salt Lake Bees , and two other minor league baseball teams, the Orem Owlz , and the Ogden Raptors.

The Utah Grizzlies, an ECHL team, has played here since the 1995-96 season. They are affiliated with the NHL New York Islanders. Their previous Grizzhome was Denver, Colorado; they moved here when the NHL granted Denver an expansion team.

The Grizz play in the "E" Center in West Valley City. The "E" Center is Utah's newest entertainment center and was designed by the world's premier arena architect, HOK. The "E" Center was the site of the 2002 Winter Olympic ice hockey and speed skating events.

Ticket price and availability info:
The Grizzlies
"E" Center
3200 S. Decker Lake Drive
West Valley City
801-988-PUCK

See the team's website for game schedules and other information.

Fans of college sports will find one of the NCAA's most entertaining and intense rivalries between the Brigham Young University Cougars and the University of Utah Utes . The Utah State University Aggies, Utah Valley State College Wolverines, Weber State University Wildcats and Southern Utah University Thunderbirds round out Utah's group of six NCAA Division I programs.

Founded in 1875, BYU is part of the LDS Church Educational System, which serves more than one million people worldwide in higher education, seminaries and institutes, elementary and secondary schools, and continuing education and literacy programs.

The university traces its roots to Utah's rich pioneer heritage. The original school, Brigham Young Academy, was established Oct. 16, 1875, on a little over one acre of land in today's downtown Provo . At that time, Brigham Young, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, charged that all secular learning at the institution should be fused with teachings from the scriptures. Speaking to Academy Principal Karl G. Maeser, President Young said: "Brother Maeser, I want you to remember that you ought not to teach even the alphabet or the multiplication tables without the Spirit of God."

With a current enrollment of over 35,000, the university is under the leadership of President Cecil O. Samuelson, who is also dedicated to the integration of academic excellence with faith in Jesus Christ and His restored gospel.

BYU students come from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 100 countries. Typically, 31 percent of the students are from Utah, 17 percent from California and 7 percent from Idaho.

The university admits persons of any sex, race, creed, religion or national origin who meet the university's admission requirements and agree to abide by standards of behavior as established by its sponsor, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Admission is based on reviews of high school transcripts; American College Test (ACT) scores; ecclesiastical recommendations; student essays; service to community, school and church; seminary/institute recommendations; and other application information. Visit the university's web site at http://www.byu.edu for more information.

The Utah Sports Commission fosters national and international amateur sports competitions to be held in the state of Utah.