Last year, the Utes went to Oregon, Cal and Gonzaga, and this year all three schools are returning to play at the Huntsman Center. This year, the Utes play at Oklahoma, and next year, the Sooners come to Utah. In 2009, the Utes go to Michigan, and the following year the Wolverines come to Utah. The Utes are hoping Gonzaga becomes an annual opponent.

"It was a leap of faith, and now we're reaping the benefits of sticking our neck out," Boylen said.

Part of the credit goes to U. athletic director Chris Hill. After serving on the NCAA Tournament selection committee the past four years, he's learned how important it is to have a strong schedule as part of your NCAA resume and he's firmly in favor of a stronger Ute schedule.

Hill heard from Ute fans who became so weary of the no-names that have frequented the home schedule that they stopped coming to games. A lot of fans would rather see a close loss to Wake Forest than another romp over Ripon.

In going back through the media guides of the various schools, I couldn't find a season where a local school had a better home schedule than the potential of Utah's upcoming slate.

Certainly a lot of good teams have come through the state over the years.

During the Majerus era, the Utes brought in name teams such as Wake Forest, Texas, Arizona, Louisville and Alabama, but generally the Utes feasted on a steady diet of Humboldt States, Azusa Pacifics and Cardinal Stritches.

BYU has played UCLA in the Marriott Center several times, and teams such as North Carolina State, Arizona, St. John's, Pitt, Notre Dame and Michigan State have come through Provo.

Utah State hasn't brought in any big opponents since the 1980s, when Kansas State and Georgia paid a visit, while Weber State's biggest game was in 1994, when a Purdue team featuring Glenn Robinson came to Ogden.

However, those games were few and far between on Utah colleges' schedules.

I don't doubt that scheduling is difficult and that a lot of schools refuse to come to Utah to play in these big arenas where the home team rarely loses. But I wonder how hard coaches really try to get more competitive games.

Sometimes you just have to try a little harder. Just ask Jim Boylen.

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E-mail: sor@desnews.com