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60-465: The men's basketball team, meanwhile, under coaches Stew Morrill (1998–2015) and Craig Smith (2018–2021), has become a nationally respected program, with several conference championships and trips to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship . The basketball program has been one of the most successful programs in the country since 2000. The women's basketball program began rebuilding in 2003 after

120-465: A 16-year absence. At the time, USU was the only Division I school that did not have a women's basketball program besides the mostly male Virginia Military Institute and The Citadel . It took eight years for Utah State to post a winning record, finishing the 2010–11 season at 16–15 after reaching the second round of the WNIT . The 2011–12 team finished 21–10 for the first 20-win season in school history, exiting

180-661: A 38–7 loss against the Tennessee Volunteers, but the Aggies rebounded with home wins against Idaho State and Wake Forest. Quarterback Chuckie Keeton was lost during the Wake Forest game after reinjuring his knee, but was replaced by second-string QB Darell Garretson, who had been the replacement starter the previous season. After dropping an overtime decision to Arkansas State, the Aggies came back to resoundingly defeat #18 BYU in Provo for

240-508: A cow by hand, but was actually mimicking the WWF Bushwackers entrance to an arena) the gesture eventually spread to the entire student section. The motions are yet another example of USU students ingenuity creating longstanding traditions at sporting events. During the final words of the second "verse", the students' pitch often rises to a full-out yell. Show me the Scotsman who doesn't love

300-430: A home loss to Kansas State. First-year offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie took over on an interim basis. On March 22, 2022, Wells was hired by Brent Venables to work on his support staff as one of his offensive analysts for the 2022 season. On January 4, 2024, Wells was hired by Chris Klieman to fill the role of quarterbacks coach and work in tandem with offensive line coach Conor Riley as co-offensive coordinator for

360-407: A mascot and spent $ 750 on a costume for Big Blue. The costume was somewhat of a disappointment because it was royal blue, not navy, had real animal horns, and was not easy to move around in. The costume has since undergone at least one redesign, but is now one of the most active and recognized college mascots in the region. Possibly Big Blue's most well-known antic was his tradition of rappelling from

420-589: A row—each year since joining the WAC. Members of the team have garnered numerous conference and regional awards, and have competed in the NCAA Championships. The football program has a rich history, with distinguished alumni such as Merlin Olsen and Phil Olsen , Bobby Wagner , Nick Vigil , and Jordan Love . As of January 2016, Aggie football has an overall record of 547–533–31 (.506) After strong success throughout

480-529: A tie for second place in the Mountain Division. Utah State went on to play in the New Mexico Bowl , defeating UTEP 21–6. The Aggies again finished the season with impressive defensive statistics, ranked 12th in scoring defense and 30th in total defense, as well as achieving the second-best record in school history at 10–4. In 2015, Wells led Utah State to six wins and its fifth-straight bowl game as

540-520: A very impressive regular season record, he did not find success in the NCAA tournament, posting the second worst record, 1–9 (.100) for any coach that has made the NCAA tournament five or more times. He also has a record of 0–6 in the NIT . With Morrill at the helm, the Aggies were one of only three Division I teams to have won at least 23 games from 1999 to 2011. The other schools are Gonzaga and Kansas. All throughout

600-405: A winning record in three years (all in the '90's). To turn things around, then-athletic director Scott Barnes inked deals with TV stations, replaced the head football coach, raised funds, and accomplished numerous necessary reorganizations, despite the athletics department's financial disadvantages in comparison with other state and conference schools. In large part due to his efforts, USU Athletics

660-507: Is an American college football coach and former quarterback . He is the associate head coach, co- offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Kansas State University . Wells previously served as offensive coordinator and then head coach at Utah State University , where he was named Mountain West Conference coach of the year in 2013 and 2018. Wells was named head football coach at Texas Tech University on November 29, 2018, and led

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720-595: Is sung twice, with the chant once in between. The popular Scotsman song was composed by student Ebenezer J. Kirkham, class of 1918. At athletic events, "The Scotsman" is often sung immediately following "Hail the Utah Aggies". The words are sung twice through without a break, accompanied by synchronized arm gestures originally created by a small students in Section K of the Spectrum in the early 90s (thought to represent milking of

780-500: The 2016 NFL draft in Vigil and Fackrell, both in the third round, while six other Aggies signed free agent contracts and two more were invited to rookie mini-camps. During the 2016 season, Utah State had six players earn various all-Mountain West honors as it lost five conference games by a combined 29 points (5.8 ppg). USU also had two players invited to postseason AllStar games, while one player

840-587: The Mountain West Conference As of July 1, 2024. Men Women Stew Morrill Stewart Morrill (born July 25, 1952) is an American college basketball coach and the former head coach of the Utah State University men's basketball team . Morrill was an All-American at Ricks College and a two-time All-Big Sky selection for Gonzaga University . He started his coaching career in 1974 as an assistant at Gonzaga, and continued at

900-756: The University of Montana under Mike Montgomery in 1978. In the spring of 1986, he was promoted to head coach of the Grizzlies, and led them to an NCAA berth in 1991 . Morrill coached at Colorado State University from 1991 to 1998 before resigning to go to Utah State. Morrill and Utah State gained national attention in March 2001 for their 77–68 upset of Ohio State in overtime in the NCAA tournament . On January 17, 2008, in an 82–78 victory over Boise State , Morrill logged his 226th Aggie victory, passing E. Lowell Romney to become

960-412: The WNIT in the first round. Following the season, Raegan Pebley, who had been head coach since the return of the sport, was hired away by Fresno State , with Jerry Finkbeiner being hired as her replacement. In 2020, Kayla Ard was hired as the new head coach of the women's basketball team. The men's cross country team has been impressive in recent years, winning the WAC title for the past five years in

1020-611: The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 2005. Many attribute the decline to administrators at both Utah and BYU freezing then-superior USU out of the newly formed WAC. They eventually were invited into the WAC after the two other schools had left to help form the Mountain West Conference . Subsequently, both Utah and BYU departed the Mountain West Conference and USU was invited to join that conference, where they currently reside. From 1980-2010, they only had

1080-993: The 2000s and early 2010s under Morrill, Utah State (.764) had the fourth-best winning percentage in the nation behind Duke (.831), Kansas (.809) and Gonzaga (.799). On January 9, 2015, USU announced that Morrill would retire at the end of the 2014–2015 season.        National champion          Postseason invitational champion          Conference regular season champion          Conference regular season and conference tournament champion        Division regular season champion        Division regular season and conference tournament champion        Conference tournament champion # denotes interim head coach Matt Wells (American football) Matthew Scribner Wells (born August 10, 1973)

1140-409: The 2012 season and has been replaced by his former offensive coordinator Matt Wells . The Aggies have played in seventeen bowl games in their history, winning six. The team's first victory came in the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl against Ball State . USU football is played at Maverik Stadium , which seats 25,100. Golf enjoyed a wealth of success in the early 1980s by alum Jay Don Blake . As a member of

1200-647: The 2013 MW Coach of the Year. After losing a close contest at Fresno State, USU earned an invitation to the Poinsettia Bowl against #23 Northern Illinois. They defeated the Huskies for the school's 3rd bowl win on December 26, 2013, with an impressive defensive performance that held Heisman Trophy finalist Jordan Lynch and the Huskies to 315 total yards and 14 points. USU finished the season ranked #12 in total defense and #7 in scoring defense. The season again began with

1260-685: The 2024 season, a role vacated when former offensive coordinator Collin Klein left for Texas A&M . Wells, a native of Sallisaw, Oklahoma , has one brother and two sisters. His father Jim was a dentist, and his brother Luke was hired as the Utah State co-offensive coordinator/tight end coach in 2013 and followed Matt to Texas Tech in 2019 as the tight ends/inside receivers coach. Wells received his bachelor's degree in business marketing from Utah State in 1996, graduating cum laude. He and his wife, Jen, have two daughters, Jadyn and Ella, and one son, Wyatt. Wells

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1320-615: The Aggie golf squad, Blake won the NCAA Championship in 1980 and was named NCAA Player of the Year in 1981. He turned pro that year, and in 1987 joined the PGA Tour , where he has one victory and several top-10 finishes, mostly in the early '90s. He has won three times on the Champions Tour . Of the women's sports at USU, gymnastics has probably been most successful historically, heading to

1380-502: The Aggies advanced to the finals of the 2021 championship. The USU men's track and field team has long enjoyed success, with a bevy of All-American athletes from decades past. In recent years, the team has also won WAC championships in 2007, 2009, and 2010 (outdoor) and 2008 and 2010 (indoor). In 1978, the Aggie volleyball team defeated UCLA to win the AIAW Large College volleyball national championship. The following year in 1979,

1440-546: The Aggies had 12 players earn various all-Mountain West honors, which were the third-most in the conference. Furthermore, senior linebacker Kyler Fackrell was named a fourth-team AllAmerican by Phil Steele's Magazine. Utah State also had five players invited to postseason All-Star games/camps, while three Aggies participated in the NFL Combine in Fackrell, Hunter Sharp and Nick Vigil . Furthermore, USU had two players selected in

1500-449: The HURD ensures that the teams who visit Utah State University will experience the best atmosphere in the country for collegiate athletics by being known as one of the craziest student sections in the country. As of August 31, 2024 Utah State has won 6 NCAA individual national championships. Listed here are the conference championships from the founding of Utah State athletics to the present in

1560-480: The Hall of Fame alumnus. The name Aggies, short for Agriculturalists, is a fixture of many universities that began as land-grant and agricultural colleges. Early USU sports teams were sometimes simply referred to as the "Farmers" as well as the Aggies, though the former name was never official. Beginning in the 1930s, an image of a "bean-pole farmer" with a pitchfork in hand and hay stalk in mouth began to be used to represent

1620-584: The JumboTron to kick off team introductions for men's basketball games. He also enjoys crowdsurfing. As of 2003, four of the six people who had played the Big Blue role had gone on to become mascots for professional sports teams. The Aggies' principal fight song is known as "Hail the Utah Aggies" as well as simply "Fight Song". It was composed in 1933 by Mickey Hart, with words by Darwin Jepsen and Mark Hart. The main verse

1680-455: The Lobos' wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator from 2007 to 2008 and wide receivers and kickoff return unit coach in 2010. In 2009, Wells served as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at Louisville . Wells has had at least one coach on his staff who later became head coach of another school. Josh Heupel became the head coach at the University of Central Florida after

1740-534: The Spectrum. The football team plays in Maverik Stadium , slightly north and west of the main campus. The stadium had natural grass until 2004, when artificial turf was installed. Romney Stadium is built on a hillside, and appears much smaller from outside than it actually is, as much of the seating and the field are below street level. In 2009, the field at Romney Stadium was named Merlin Olsen Field, in honor of

1800-441: The college's history, mostly due to the university's setting on a hill in a high mountain valley. In fact, for a brief period, USU's teams were indeed nicknamed the "Scotsmen" as well, and a remnant of this era lives on in the current and popular fight song "The Scotsman". There is a first person account of "The Scotsman" being around during or before 1954. President Dixon sang a solo of “The Scotsman” at frosh orientation in 1954 and

1860-526: The college, though this too was never made official, and disappeared following the transformation into a full-fledged university in 1957. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, a movement began on campus to shed the Aggie name in favor of the Utah State Highlanders, but the movement met with widespread opposition and was abandoned. The name "Highlanders" was a nod to the university's historic ideological tie to Scotland, which came about very early on in

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1920-534: The conference tournament. The Aggie softball team has appeared in four Women's College World Series , in 1978, 1980, 1981 and 1984, winning the AIAW Division I softball national championship in 1980 and 1981. Men's tennis has advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice over the last five years and has generated multiple all-conference honors. The team has also been highly competitive at ITA Regional competitions, as

1980-499: The country with one of the most enthusiastic crowds in the country, rivaling Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University . It is a tradition that near the beginning of games the crowd chooses one player from the other team who commits a blatant foul, taunts the crowd, etc., and every time that player touches the ball the entire crowd boos loudly until he passes the ball. This pressure on opposing players created by this tradition has cut many outstanding players down to below average while at

2040-516: The departure of Scott Frost for the University of Nebraska, and is currently the head coach at the University of Tennessee . Heupel previously served under Wells in 2015 as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Wells returned to his alma mater Utah State as the quarterbacks coach in December 2010. Following the 2011 season, USU offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin left

2100-415: The first time since 1978, by a score of 35–20. After opening conference play with a win against Air Force, Garretson was lost to a broken wrist in a loss to Colorado State, and replaced by third-string quarterback Craig Harrison, who was injured in the next game. Under the leadership of former scout team quarterback Kent Myers, the team went on to win the next four games, before losing to Boise State to claim

2160-555: The following year it was adopted as USU's mascot. For a few years, USU used an actual white bull, painted blue, which was brought to sporting events and corralled on the sidelines. However, when the Smith Spectrum was built, there were concerns with the bull ruining the floor. For a short time, the bull was outfitted with red rubber boots, which did not pan out and the bull was retired. In 1987, USU Student Athletics Vice President John Mortensen decided that Utah State should still have

2220-400: The head coach at the University of Wisconsin . On December 20, 2012, Wells was named the 27th head coach in the history of the Utah State football program. Wells' 2013 season began with a loss to Utah, followed by consecutive victories. After a close loss to USC, USU posted a 2–2 record on the season. The Aggies won the next game, but dropped the next two to bring the team to a 3–4 record on

2280-474: The helm of the Red Raiders program on August 31, 2019, Wells led Texas Tech to a 45–10 victory over Montana State in the season opener at Jones AT&T Stadium. Texas Tech finished the season with a 4–8 record, including a win over No. 21 Oklahoma State and a 38–17 road win at West Virginia. The 2020 Red Raiders struggled, finishing with a 4–6 record. After beginning the season with a win over Houston Baptist ,

2340-467: The mid-20th century, they struggled during most of the next several decades, following two ill-fated stints as an independent program and two more years in the geographically distant Sun Belt Conference after the Big West Conference , which had housed the Aggies since 1978, elected to stop sponsoring football in 2001. USU's other teams remained in that conference until the school was invited to join

2400-485: The most dynamic offenses in the country in 2018, averaging 47.5 points per game, which only trailed Oklahoma among schools nationally. The Aggies, who also ranked among the national leaders for fewest sacks allowed (4th), total offense (11th), passing efficiency (14th) and passing offense (17th), lighted up scoreboards to the tune of 618 points on the season, snapping the Mountain West and Utah State single-season records in

2460-483: The offense that pushed the Aggies as Utah State led or shared the national lead in turnovers gained (32), passes intercepted (22), kickoff return average (30.3) and three-and-outs forced (5.7 per game). Utah State finished plus-14 in the turnover margin, ranking third in the FBS for the category. On November 29, 2018, Wells was hired by Texas Tech as head football coach, signing a six-year contract. In his inaugural game at

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2520-512: The only coach in Utah State history to have back-to-back undefeated seasons at home, extending the streak to 34 straight home wins. He is also the only Utah State coach to win thirty games in one season, a feat he accomplished in the 2008–09 season, and the 2010–11 season. During the 2009–10 season, he became the only Utah State basketball coach to win three straight regular season conference championships. The next year, he won his fourth straight regular season conference championship. Although he has

2580-402: The person was present at that orientation. A November 7, 1901, meeting decided that the college's official color would be blue. It originated as more of a royal blue, morphing fully into navy by the 1920s. The term "Big Blue" came about in the 1960s simply to refer to the uniform color, as opposed to any particular mascot. The image of a bull first appeared on a football game program in 1975, and

2640-452: The postseason 26 times, including five trips to the national championships. The soccer team finished the 2008 season with a perfect record in conference play, as well as a WAC title. Despite falling in the conference tournament in 2009, Aggie soccer landed three players on the All-WAC first team. The team produced its best record in 2021, finishing the year 13-6-3 and advancing to the semifinals of

2700-483: The process. Overall, the Aggies snapped 34 school records and tied six others during the 2018 season alone, breaking the previous marks for touchdowns (79), points scored (618), points per game (47.5), total offense per game (497.4), yards of total offense (6,466), total passing yards (3,825), completions (303), extra points (75) and yards per kick return (30.3). Utah State also had 29 scoring drives under one minute, nearly double its previous school record. It wasn't only

2760-588: The program to take a similar position at Colorado State. Wells was tapped as his replacement and helped to guide the team to the Western Athletic Conference championship in 2012. The Aggies finished the season with a record of 11–2, a 41–15 victory over Toledo in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, and ranked 16th in the AP Poll. Head coach Gary Andersen resigned shortly after the bowl win to become

2820-622: The regular season, have ended a year among the top-25 schools in the AP poll. The No. 13 ranking was Utah State's highest at any point in a season since the 1961 campaign. Wells was named the 2018 Mountain West Coach of the Year for the second time during his time in Logan, making him just the fifth Mountain West coach to receive the honor twice in a career, joining the likes of Sonny Lubick , Rocky Long , Urban Meyer and Gary Patterson . Utah State boasted one of

2880-618: The season in Davis and Dallin Leavitt , while Braelon Roberts was invited to a rookie mini-camp. In 2018, Utah State recorded one of its best seasons in school history in Wells’ final year as the Aggies closed the 2018 campaign ranked 21st in the final Amway Coaches’ poll and 22nd in the Associated Press poll. It marked only the fourth time in school history the Aggies, who climbed as high as No. 13 during

2940-561: The season. Their preseason Heisman hopeful quarterback, Chuckie Keeton, was injured in game six against BYU, and was lost for the season. After a loss to Boise State, the squad rebounded and won the final five regular season games. These victories gave them the Mountain West Mountain Division Title, and a berth in the inaugural Mountain West Football Title Game. Due to the team's performance, Wells earned

3000-528: The summer of 2012. At capacity, the HURD fills 6,500 seats at Romney Stadium for USU Football and 4,000 seats in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum for USU Basketball. The HURD helps organize major activities, with leadership and help from the HURD Committee, such as tailgates, camp outs, away game watch parties and more for the student body and community. Drawing from its motto "Be Seen. Be Loud. Be HURD!",

3060-595: The team fell to Hawaii in the national championship match. The volleyball team shared the regular-season Mountain West Championship in 2021. The most used sports venue is the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum , where basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics events are held. TV and radio announcers visiting the Smith Spectrum for the first time commonly state that the spectrum is one of the loudest basketball venues in

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3120-403: The team until his firing midway through the 2021 season . He also served as an offensive analyst at the University of Oklahoma under head coach Brent Venables during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Wells was a redshirt freshman during Utah State's 1993 Las Vegas Bowl season. He played quarterback in 16 games during the 1994 and 1995 seasons at USU, passing for 2,013 yards and 11 touchdowns. He

3180-436: The team was only able to win three conference games, all of which came at home: the victories were over West Virginia (by seven points), Baylor (one point), and Kansas (three points). After the season, offensive coordinator David Yost was fired . Despite much speculation on Wells' future with the Red Raiders, he was retained for the 2021 season. Wells was dismissed as Texas Tech's head coach on October 25, 2021, following

3240-526: The thistle. Show me the Englishman who doesn't love the rose. Show me the true blooded Aggie from Utah Who doesn't love the spot . . . Where the sagebrush grows! The HURD is the student section at Utah State University. The HURD started in 2006 and has grown every year since. Beginning as a club in the USU Student Association, the HURD moved to total inclusion of the entire USU student body in

3300-503: The top 25 in the nation twice. After many years of futility, the Aggies experienced a renaissance under head coach Gary Andersen , who replaced Brent Guy following the 2008 season. The 2011 campaign was the team's first winning season in many years, resulting in a postseason bowl berth. 2012 has brought the school's first-ever 10-win season and WAC championship (its first outright conference championship since 1936), and national Top 25 rankings in all three major polls. Andersen left USU after

3360-485: The winningest coach in Utah State basketball history. Morrill has a record of 602–281 overall (.682), and 384–143 (.729) with Utah State. His 500th win came in January 2010 at Idaho , coached by his former assistant, Don Verlin . He has also racked up an incredible home record of 193–13 (.937) in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum as coach of the Aggies. Following a victory over San Jose State on March 9, 2009, Morrill became

3420-529: Was crowned the 2009 National Champion of the Excellence in Management Cup, which seeks to identify the university that wins the most championships with the lowest expenses. The Aggies brought in WAC championships in five sports during the 2008–09 academic year, tied for the most in school history. And since then, the football program has only missed a bowl game twice, winning four bowl games, and finished ranked in

3480-548: Was named an All-American by four different publications, including the Walter Camp Football Foundation, who voted him to their first team. Furthermore, sophomore placekicker Dominik Eberle was named a third-team All-American by Phil Steele's Magazine and was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, which honors the top placekicker in college football. USU also had two players sign NFL free agent contracts following

3540-507: Was on the 1996 Big West Conference co-championship team, but did not play in a game. Wells was a three-year letterman from 1994 to 1996. Wells spent five years at the U.S. Naval Academy (1997–2001) as its quarterbacks coach, fullbacks coach, and wide receivers coach. He also served as the junior varsity head coach and offensive coordinator for three years. From 2002 to 2006 he was tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Tulsa . Wells had two coaching stints at New Mexico , serving as

3600-458: Was selected in the 2017 NFL draft in Devante Mays . Furthermore, USU had eight other Aggies who signed free agent contracts. In 2017, Wells led Utah State to six wins and its sixth bowl game in the past seven seasons as the Aggies had six players earn various all-Mountain West honors. Additionally, senior cornerback Jalen Davis became just the ninth first-team All-America in school history and

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