Utes on parade

Utah football fans will take to the streets with their undefeated, Sugar Bowl-winning team Friday in a downtown parade celebrating a national championship-caliber season.

Chants of "We're No. 1" are likely to displace the familiar "B-C-S" cry that echoed in Rice-Eccles Stadium after Utah won its final regular season game against BYU.

And with Attorney General Mark Shurtleff weighing in, busting the BCS has taken on a whole new meaning.

Most Utahns support his waging war against college football's Bowl Championship Series, according to a Dan Jones & Associates poll for the Deseret News and KSL-TV.

Sixty percent of respondents said Shurtleff should continue building an antitrust case against the BCS.

Days after Utah earned a dominating 31-17 victory over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, Shurtleff attracted national attention after telling the Deseret News his plan to go after the BCS. The win brought the Utes a No. 2 ranking in The Associated Press football poll.

Shurtleff contends that schools like Utah, which went undefeated in 2008 with a 13-0 record, are at a disadvantage because it is a member of the Mountain West Conference, which does not have an automatic bid to a BCS bowl game.

Calling the BCS an "unfair system," Shurtleff said a team like the Utes, who were the nation's only undefeated team, will "never be given a chance" to win a national championship.

The majority — 66 percent — agreed, saying the BCS is definitely not a valid way for determining the college football national championship.

Still, the Utes will converge on State Street New Orleans-style Friday, passing out red Mardi Gras beads and commemorative placards to revel in what most fans see as the best season ever for any team from the state of Utah.

"It gives us all a chance to celebrate a fantastic season," said Ann Ronchetti, director of marketing for U. athletics. She said the team is very excited for the chance to thank hometown fans for their support.

Joining the team on the march down State Street will be the Ute band, cheerleaders, Crimson Line, and the Mighty Utah Student Section. U. President Michael K. Young, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and U. football coach Kyle Whittingham will also salute the crowd.

"I look forward to our parade on Friday as we honor our Ute football team that has shown us the way to No. 1," Becker said Tuesday night during his State of the City report.

The parade begins at 3 p.m. at Eagle Gate, at the corner of South Temple and State Street. The Utes will march behind a caravan of cars carrying coaches, administrators and dignitaries. Fans are encouraged to line both sides of the street for the procession, which will culminate in a rally on the west steps of the City County Building.

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