U. ice cream a red-hot seller

University of Utah football fans have always been able to snatch up hats, shirts, pennants and other paraphernalia. But a new "Utes Blitz" ice cream allows them to be a U. fan inside as well as out.

Oakland-based Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Inc. kicked off the new limited-edition flavor two weeks ago, and the concoction of vanilla ice cream with fudge swirls and caramel-filled chocolate footballs has proven as popular as a Top 25 ranking.

Apparently, you scream for U. ice cream.

"We do limited flavors like this from time to time, like Girl Scout or pumpkin or peppermint, so we ordered 16,000 of these cartons and packagings, but we didn't know how it would go," said Scott West, district manager for Dreyer's, which produces ice cream in Salt Lake City.

"That's a lot of product for one flavor for a short period of time, but we've already sold over 7,100 units before the season has even started. More than likely, we'll run out of the product soon, just because it's doing so well."

Not wanting to fudge the numbers, the company will keep cold-hearted Ute fans happy as it dishes out Utes Blitz until the 16,000 packages are gone. The limited-edition flavor is available at Smith's and Albertsons stores throughout Utah and eastward into Rock Springs, Wyo. A 1.75-quart carton sold for $4.99 at a Salt Lake Smith's on Wednesday.

"It's flying off the shelves," West said before being asked a potentially sticky question about sales in Provo.

"We are selling some down there. The first week when we presented it in Provo, they didn't want to put it out on the shelves. But people asked for it, so we are selling some down there, but not as well as in other areas."

Brigham Young University had the opportunity to get its own Dreyer's flavor but passed. "Maybe they'll get on board once they see the Utah flavor out there," West said.

The ice cream sales pack a dual punch of drumming up some Ute community spirit and providing a little scholarship money for the university. The carton sports the football team's 2004 schedule, and Dreyer's will donate $1 for each carton sold, up to $2,500, to the University of Utah Scholarship Fund.

"It's just the exposure of getting it out into all the stores and the carton with the schedule on it," said Casey Fox, director of marketing for the U. athletic department. "It's another marketing tool to get our name and awareness in front of the community's minds.