SALT LAKE CITY — While the rivalry between BYU and the University of Utah has a lot of people claiming one school's dominance over the other, there's just no topping the "Block U."
I spoke with U of U officials to learn more about the storied landmark.
If there's one thing that you see a lot around campus at the University of Utah, it's the letter U. A "U" here, a "U" there, "U"s on golf carts, benches and buildings. Little "U"s and big "U"s dominate the campus, but there's one "U" that rules them all.
"We're really proud of the Block U. We are actually one of the first in the country to have a monument letter on the hill," said Rebecca Walsh, university's communications director.
In 1905, students hiked the hill and wrote a U and added 1905 for their class year.
"The University of California at Berkeley beat us just by a matter of weeks in 1905," Walsh said.
This makes it only the second collegiate hillside letter in the country and a year earlier than a certain other Utah school. Many schools have since adopted the tradition.
"We have 73 in Utah, including the Block U here," Walsh said. "In 1907, the university made it official and created the Block U out of limestone and some concrete. And then successive classes over the years would go up and whitewash the Block U as part of the tradition of their class. And then, in 1967, we added lights and started electrifying it. So the U is lit red for home games — flashes red. For away games, when we win, it flashes white," Walsh said.
One person who knows that really well is Richard Brown, who lives right below the U.
"So here's my view every morning: the Block U. For one thing, it makes it very easy to give directions to people when we're telling them how to get to our house," Brown said.
"People ask me, 'Don't the lights bother you?'" he continued. "The fact is, no. When they're flashing and we know the U won, that's great news. But they really don't bother us because now they're LED lights."
Even though he has his PhD from the U, Brown maintains perspective on the rivalry.
"I got my bachelor's and master's degrees at BYU, so I really don't have any ill feelings towards those guys," Brown said.
Even his office is adorned with pictures from the past.
"This is from when they were first building the U and whitewashing it, and our home sits about right here," Brown said, pointing to a picture on his wall.
"Well, it's a very important part of the University of Utah's culture," Brown continued.
"As an alum, I personally see it as a landmark. When I'm driving on the freeway coming back from the airport and it's flashing, I know that something good has happened," Walsh added.
"It's a great, fun family and individual tradition," Walsh said.