University of Utah Trivia Trivia Quiz

Answer: The University of Deseret

Utah Territory was originally called 'Deseret', which means honeybee, by the Mormons (the honeybee is on the state emblem). Naturally, the university originally included the term 'Deseret' in its title, but was later changed to the University of Utah (in 1894) after the federal government established the Utah Territory.

Answer: True

The University of Utah was founded in 1850 by Brigham Young, only three years after the Mormon pioneers arrived in Utah. The University likes to claim that it's the oldest university, period, west of the Mississippi, but this is not quite true. St. Louis University was founded in 1818, making it the oldest...but it is not a state university.

Answer: Northeast

The University of Utah is situated near the mouth of Emigration Canyon, where the Mormon pioneers first emerged into the Salt Lake Valley. Brigham Young's famous quote, 'This is the Place', is immortalized in a monument just to the south of the campus.

The campus has also partially incorporated the now inactive military post called Fort Douglas, which was established in Utah Territory by the U.S. government as a way of keeping an eye on the sometimes rebellious Mormons.

Answer: Presidents Circle

Most of the buildings around the Presidents Circle were constructed before 1900, and they include the Park Building (which houses the administration) and the Utah Museum of Natural History.

Answer: Ski slope

Though the university owns land that reaches up the slopes of the nearby hills, a ski slope has not be installed. Fortunately, the ski team has a number of local resorts nearby at which they can practice their slalom techniques! The school does contain a nine-hole golf course and fine medical and law schools. Additionally, there are several baseball and soccer fields, a basketball and gymnastics gym, a large football stadium and a natatorium containing an olympic-sized swimming pool.

Answer: Special Events Center

Prior to becoming the Jon M. Huntsman Center in the late 1980s this 15,000 seat arena had the world's most boring name, the Special Events Center. Great players such as Tom Chambers, Billy McGill, Danny Vranes, Keith van Horn and Andre Miller have graced its cavernous basketball court, and the 1979 college basketball championship game between Indiana State (Larry Bird) and Michigan State (Magic Johnson) was held there.

Answer: Eccles

The Eccles name is also attached to the business school, the family has been a major contributor to the university for years. With nearly 46,000 seats, Rice-Eccles Stadium was home to the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics, and also houses the Runnin' Utes football team...if only they could fill the darn thing!

Answer: Women's gymnastics and skiing

The women's gymnastics program won nine gymnastics titles between 1981 and 1995, including five in a row from 1981 to 1986! The ski team won championships in 1981, 1983-4, 1986-8, 1993 and 1996-7. The men's basketball championship came in 1944 and their runner-up year was 1998. They also won the NIT championship in 1947 at a time when the NIT was more prestigious than the NCAA tourney!

Answer: Library

The Marriott Library went through a major expansion in the early-1990s (which created quite a pain for students, I must say!) that doubled its capacity. The library is located in a central location on campus, adjacent to the bookstore.

Answer: First artificial heart implant

In 1982, Dr. Barney Clark received the first artificial heart transplant at the University of Utah Medical Center. The artificial heart was developed by Robert Jarvik, and remained in Dr. Clark for 112 days until he passed away. Thank you for trying my quiz...I hope you learned a thing or two and enjoyed the quiz as well!