USANA is expanding its reach in Utah sports, striking a new partnership that makes the Salt Lake City company the official vitamin, mineral and nutrition partner of the University of Utah.
The announcement came Tuesday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, where USANA and Utah Athletics unveiled a deal that will add more than 500 Ute athletes to USANA’s sponsorship roster. Those athletes span all 19 of Utah’s sports.
For USANA, the fit is rooted close to home. Brent Neidig, the company’s chief commercial officer, said the decision grew out of the company’s long presence in the state and its ties to the university.
“USANA has been a Utah-based company for 35 years and we felt it was super important to support our home community where we operate and have hundreds of employees that work and operate here,” Neidig said.
He also pointed to the company’s connection to Utah graduates and the school’s profile as a natural match.
“We actually have hundreds of employees that have graduated from the University of Utah. To us, it’s a natural fit.
The University of Utah excels in excellence and they have a phenomenal program here. We feel it’s a great opportunity for us to provide our world-class supplements to the program.
USANA and Utah had been working through the deal for about “year or so,” according to Neidig.
The partnership will give Utah Athletics access to USANA’s line of nutritional supplements, with the company emphasizing that the relationship is centered on product support first.
“A product-first partnership, and that’s how we structure all of our deals around the world. We have over 4,000 elite and Olympic athletes that consume our product.
Whenever we start a conversation with a new organization or team, we always focus on the product first. That is the primary bulk of our partnership, which is providing products to the athletes here,” Neidig said.
Utah’s performance nutrition staff says that access matters. In a press release, Meredith Price, Utah Assistant A.D. for Performance Nutrition, called the agreement a major boost for the program.
“Utah Athletics’ partnership with USANA is a game-changer for our student-athletes and our Performance Nutrition program,” Price said.
“Our team of dietitians work individually with student-athletes to optimize their nutrition for performance, recovery and health. Having access to high-quality, third-party sport-tested supplements from USANA allows us to keep health and safety at the forefront of our recommendations.”
The deal also extends beyond supplements. Utah and USANA will give athletes opportunities to work with the USANA Foundation, which aims to end malnutrition, and USANA will help connect University of Utah athletes with youth sports organizations.
“One other thing that we’re very excited about is the opportunity to incorporate the athletes here at the university with our foundation, which is engaged in providing food and meals to children in need all throughout the state here,” Neidig said.
While the arrangement is built primarily around product support, there will also be NIL opportunities for athletes.
In Other News...
Morgan Scalley Opens Up About A Special Utah Road Trip Guest
Utahs first road trip of the season to Ames, Iowa, came with an unexpected guest in the travel party: Ronald A. Rasband, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a University of Utah alumnus. His presence caught enough attention that Morgan Scalley made a point of calling it special, and said he also spent time helping the team understand who Rasband is and why his visit mattered.
Rasband has remained a familiar figure around campus beyond this trip. He received an honorary degree from Utahs business college in 2024 and has shown up at other college sports events before, which helped make this another one of those connections between the Utes and a prominent alumnus. For a team on the road, it was a reminder that the programs reach can extend well beyond the sideline. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Unveils A New Whiteout Look Fans Will Want To See
Utah is adding another one-off helmet to a tradition that has become part of the programs fall identity. When the Utes take the field at Rice-Eccles Stadium for their whiteout game against Kansas, theyll do it in a new hand-painted white shell with a frozen look, red script and a mountain landscape, a design that fits right into the schools annual habit of unveiling something different each year.
The custom helmets have been part of Utahs showcase-game routine since 2016, with 2020 the lone exception, and this years version arrives with the team in a strong spot at 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play. For a fan base that already has a built-in reason to dress in white, the new look gives the matchup a little extra theater, even before the game itself provides the bigger answer. [Read more 🡒]
Morgan Scalley Tries To Calm Utah Fears After Iowa State Lapse
Utahs win over Iowa State still had a jarring stretch in the third quarter, the kind of lull that can stick in the minds of fans even when the final margin ends up looking comfortable. Morgan Scalley and Kevin McGiven both pointed to that brief dip in execution, but they framed it as part of a game the Utes otherwise handled well, especially once they got back to making the right adjustments on offense.
Scalleys message was aimed at easing the concern that one sluggish period might say more than it should about the team. Utah left the game with a decisive victory and, more importantly, the sense that it can correct course quickly when things get messy. For a group trying to build on its early-season footing, that ability to respond may matter more than the lapse itself. [Read more 🡒]