As students prepare to leave home once again for another year of studies, homework and exams, athletes and fans are preparing for another terrific calendar year of collegiate athletics.
Though football and men's basketball are by far the most profitable for universities and popular among fans, many more athletes in several other sports have spent the time and given the effort to excel as well. Several hundred athletes — not just the ones we regularly read about in the media — will take to the hardwood, swimming pools, tennis courts, soccer pitches and baseball diamonds of Utah to compete for collegiate championships no less valid than any other.
Among the hundreds of athletes that represent Utah's major universities are students that come from as far away as Australia and as close as the Salt Lake Valley itself. Some are very big, tall and heavy. Others are smaller, lighter and much shorter. All of them are very, very good at what they do.
From football to volleyball, from baseball to basketball, from gymnastics to soccer, Here are 30 of those athletes that get a little less attention than they deserve, 10 each from BYU, Utah and USU.
Jump to the 10 Utah State athletes.
Landon Hemsley is the sports web producer for DeseretNews.com. Email: lhemsley@deseretnews.com. Twitter.com/EarlOfHemsley