Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 70.92
Liaison Amy Brunvand
Submission Date Sept. 12, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Utah
IN-16: Green Athletics

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.25 / 0.50 Kara Freedman
Engagement & Events Coordinator
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution’s green athletics program include the following?:
Yes or No
Zero waste and/or carbon neutral athletic events No
A stadium or arena certified under a green building rating system Yes
A sustainable food and beverage purchasing program that includes athletic event vendors and concessions No
A program to minimize the sustainability impacts of turf management (e.g., by installing low input turfgrass or environmentally preferable artificial turf) No
A program to support more sustainable transportation options for athletic events Yes
Community engagement efforts, e.g. to educate students and fans/supporters about the institution’s sustainability initiatives Yes
An athletic team certification program No

A brief description of the institution’s green athletics program:

Ken Garff Red Zone, Rice Eccles Stadium Expansion, 2021. Certified LEED Gold.
The project was to tear down an existing structure and and build a new structure incorporating new team locker rooms, new concessions and amenities, and new VIP boxes. The stadium’s south end zone was enclosed, and capacity was increased by 4,500 seats to 51,444. To meet the University of Utah’s carbon neutral goals for 2050, the facility was designed with water-to-water heat pumps to provide heating and cooling water to the new systems with heat rejection to a geothermal well. The all-electric building is heated with an existing geothermal well.

Recycle Rice-Eccles (RRE)(2009 - present)
RRE is a program under the ASUU Sustainability Board. Every home game, volunteers work to promote awareness about campus recycling through collecting recyclables during tailgating. Volunteers get a free ticket into the game and a t-shirt.
URL: http://asuu.utah.edu/recyclericeeccles

RecycBike Brigade (2017-present)
The Sustainability Office manages the RecycBike Brigade at home football games. Volunteers ride six cargo bikes around campus to collect tailgaters aluminum, plastic, and glass recycling. The Brigade is also a tool for athlete engagement in sustainability.

University of Utah Game Day Ticket Program (2013- present)
URL: https://www.rideuta.com/fares-and-passes/u-of-u-athletic-events
University of Utah and the Utah Transit Authority have partnered to provide public transportation to the U for athletic events. If you have a ticket to cheer on your favorite University of Utah sports team, you can board UTA bus, FrontRunner or TRAX with your game day ticket and ride the system all day. The offer is good for all University of Utah home football games, gymnastic meets, men and women’s basketball games, and soccer and volleyball games, as well as high school football and basketball tournaments held on the University of Utah campus. In 2022, an estimated 40% of fans rode the train to football games

Pac-12 Team Green
URL: https://pac-12.com/team-green
The University of Utah actively supports Pac-12 Team Green, the conference's sustainability initiative. The University of Utah Sustainability Office develops programming for one home football game and one home gymnastics meet as part of the Pac-12 Zero Waste Challenge.

PAC-12 Sustainbility Conference host
From June 15-17,2022 the University of Utah hosted the PAC-12 Sustainability Conference. The event was originally scheduled for summer 2020 but was postponed due to COVID-19. The conference brought together Pac-12 member universities to discuss and plan sustainability action in their college athletics departments.


Website URL where information about the green athletics program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

NOTES

The University of Utah joined the Green Sports Alliance (GSA) in 2014. The PAC-12 Conference joined GSA in 2015, following the lead of the conference’s 12 institutions, which were already members of GSA.

Jon M. and Karen Huntsman Basketball Facility (2017), LEED Gold certified.
URL: https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/taking-the-leed/

University of Utah Football Center (2015), LEED Silver certified.

RESOURCES

Maria Archibald, "U hosts first in-person Pac-12 Sustainability Conference since 2019", @TheU, June 17, 2022.
URL: https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/u-hosts-first-in-person-pac-12-sustainability-conference-since-2019/


NOTES

The University of Utah joined the Green Sports Alliance (GSA) in 2014. The PAC-12 Conference joined GSA in 2015, following the lead of the conference’s 12 institutions, which were already members of GSA.

Jon M. and Karen Huntsman Basketball Facility (2017), LEED Gold certified.
URL: https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/taking-the-leed/

University of Utah Football Center (2015), LEED Silver certified.

RESOURCES

Maria Archibald, "U hosts first in-person Pac-12 Sustainability Conference since 2019", @TheU, June 17, 2022.
URL: https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/u-hosts-first-in-person-pac-12-sustainability-conference-since-2019/

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