Utah’s college football map doesn’t lean cleanly one way or the other. It tilts purple.
A new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found that 56% of Utahns - including two-thirds of men - say they’re avid or casual college football fans. But when those fans are asked which local team they follow most closely, there’s no runaway winner.
Utah comes out on top at 36%, with BYU next at 29% and Utah State at 13%. The rest of the state’s FBS schools barely register in the poll: Weber State, Southern Utah, Utah Tech and Snow College each drew 3%. Another 8% said they follow a team outside Utah.
That top-line result fits the state’s football landscape. Utah and BYU are the biggest brands, both sitting among the country’s top programs, with Utah in the Big 12 and BYU in the Big 12. Utah State, meanwhile, is beginning its first year in the newly configured Pac-12.
The fan split changes a lot once age enters the picture.
BYU gets the edge among Gen Zers, 36% to 27% over Utah. Baby boomers also lean BYU, with the Cougars at 32%, Utah State at 27% and Utah down at 16%. Retired people, too, favor BYU and Utah State over Utah.
Utah, though, owns the middle age groups. The poll says 56% of Gen Xers back the Utes, the highest percentage for any team in that age bracket, while only 19% support BYU.
Among millennials, 40% follow Utah and 30% follow BYU. Utah State trails well behind in both groups.
The gender split also matters. More men than women favor Utah, while support for BYU is evenly divided.
Religion remains a major part of the rivalry’s fan base. Among respondents who identified as Christian, 37% most closely follow BYU, which is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nearly a third follow Utah, and just over 1 in 10 back Utah State.
The same pattern shows up, even more sharply, among religious non-Protestant/Catholic respondents: almost half support BYU, compared with about one-quarter for Utah. More than 6 in 10 who identified as agnostic/nothing in particular follow Utah.
Among Latter-day Saints, half support BYU on the football field, while a quarter support Utah.
Politics tracks along familiar lines, too. Self-identified Democrats are much more likely to back Utah than BYU.
Republicans lean BYU, though the margin over Utah is smaller than the Democratic split. Independents give Utah the edge.
The 2024 presidential vote broke the same way in the poll. Among Utahns who voted for Kamala Harris, 47% are Utah fans and 20% are BYU fans. Among those who voted for Donald Trump, 35% support BYU and 29% support Utah.
The new numbers aren’t the first sign that Utah’s football allegiances are divided. A 2019 Y2 Analytics survey for UtahPolicy.com found 42% cheering for Utah, 31% for BYU and 8% for Utah State.
Nearly one-fifth said they followed another team. That poll did not include the other four football-playing schools in the state.
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