The University of Utah and BYU are launching the Rival Right initiative to promote good sportsmanship

SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah and Brigham Young University share one of the most exciting rivalries in college sports, with both universities boasting rich traditions and many notable games between the two.

Of course, a monumental rivalry is sure to inspire an abundance of passion among the teams' respective fan bases, and now the universities are coming together to harness that passion for good by launching the Rival Right initiative a week before the two teams meet start grate.

“We are all passionate fans,” US President Taylor Randall said in a statement. “Our rivalry is one of the great traditions in college sports and is based on mutual respect and a shared love of the game. I encourage fans of both teams to cheer passionately, support your team and show the nation what true sportsmanship looks like.”

The initiative encourages fans to practice good sportsmanship by being respectful and competitive while keeping trash talk lighthearted without becoming rude, toxic or personal. On a larger scale, however, the initiative calls on BYU and U. fans to contribute to a nearly month-long “Tackling Hunger Together” food drive that begins Saturday and ends Nov. 27.

Non-perishable food items will be collected at Smith's grocery stores in Salt Lake City and Provo from November 2nd through November 9th. Children can take photos with the U. mascot, Swoop, at the Delta Center, where monetary donations are also being accepted. Fans of both schools can use Venmo or other cash apps to donate to the Utah Food Bank on Nov. 9 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Throughout the month, students will also go into campus neighborhoods and ask neighbors to drop off bags of groceries so they can be picked up the next day.

“No one can escape this rivalry in the Valley,” said Kris Bosman, chief alumni relations officer at the U. She is one of the university representatives in the campaign. “We hope to show that you can have a little healthy competition and still do something for the community… and it can be fun.”

This isn't the first year of the food drive rivalry in the Valley. Nearly 30 years ago, both locations held separate food drives to support those in need in their communities. Not long after the trip began, students began unofficially competing with each other. In true red-blue rivalry fashion, students and staff viewed this as another aspect of the rivalry, another way to beat “BYU” or “beat the Utes.”

Later, an official fight between BYU and Utah over shelf-stable food broke out, which died down for a short time until, as BYU and U students wrote, “the rivalry became serious again.” The pandemic in 2020 and 2021 has has caused competition to take a back seat, but now in 2024, students, faculty and staff are ready to give back and compete.

“Hunger does not recognize color, it does not recognize age, it does not recognize season or place,” said Ginette Bott, president and CEO of the Utah Food Bank. “What we must do is collectively and collaboratively, through partnership, through caring, through dedication and through giving… to the less fortunate. Donate to those who are struggling right now.”

Items collected will go to the Utah Food Bank and the Feed U Pantry, a food pantry for students, faculty and staff on the University of Utah campus. Items and monetary donations will also remain in Provo and will go specifically to Community Action Services and the food bank. It will all be necessary as the number of people across Utah living in food insecurity — children and adults who don't know where their next meal is coming from — continues to grow, according to Feeding America.

Starting in November, food drives will be held in many communities across Utah. They are typically traditions for groups, churches and classrooms, local food bank officials said. But the creative ones — like a four-week competition between two rival schools 50 miles apart, expecting no prize for their efforts, except, of course, for everyone to know that one side beats the other — are always welcome.

“Community food drives are important to us and the people we serve,” said Heidi Cannella, communications director for the Utah Food Bank. “We all want to do what we can for the community, and if it's healthy competition that can lead us to give to others… that's great.”

Fans can donate non-perishable food items at 10 Smith's locations in Salt Lake County and Utah County.

Salt Lake County locations include:

• 922 E. 2100 South, Salt Lake City
• 455 E. 500 South, Salt Lake City
• 402 6th Ave., Salt Lake City
• 876 E. 800 South, Salt Lake City
• 3215 S. Valley St., Salt Lake City

Locations in Utah County include:

• 1550 E. 3500 North, Lehi
• 210 E. 700 South, Pleasant Grove
• 45 S. State, Orem
• 350 N. Freedom Blvd., Provo
• 1117 W. 400 South, Springville

Additionally, monetary donations can be made online at utahfoodbank.org or communityactionprovo.org.

“I undoubtedly bleed blue,” BYU President Shane Reese said in a statement. “But as we cheer for the Cougars, we must understand what it means to be a good fan – to show respect and courtesy to our opponents, especially our friends at the University of Utah.”