Utes add I-AA school to '06 grid schedule

Utah has added a 12th game to its 2006 football schedule.

Northern Arizona joins Ohio as the Utes' non-conference opponents at Rice-Eccles Stadium next fall. The dates and times have yet to be determined.

Utah plays at UCLA and Utah State next year.

The Lumberjacks, who play in the Division I-AA Big Sky Conference, fill an opening created last spring when the NCAA Board of Directors voted to allow college programs to add a 12th game.

The decision left teams scrambling for games since most non-conference football contracts are negotiated years in advance.

"We explored a whole lot of different avenues and decided NAU was the best available to us," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham.

The Lumberjacks are coming off a 3-8 campaign that included a 27-7 win over Southern Utah in Flagstaff and a 31-23 loss at Weber State.

"We feel Northern Arizona is a quality I-AA team," Whittingham said. "And that was the best scenario for us."

NAU, which also has Arizona State of the Pac-10 on its schedule, and Ohio are joined on Utah's 2006 home slate by Mountain West Conference foes BYU, Colorado State, TCU and UNLV.

The Utes will face Air Force, New Mexico, San Diego State, UCLA, Utah State and Wyoming on the road.

Javan Hedlund, MWC assistant commissioner, said all football dates and times — subject to change because of television — should be finalized by March 1.

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Future non-conference opponents

2007: (Home) UCLA, Utah State. (Away) Oregon State, Louisville.

2008: (Home) Oregon State, Weber State. (Away) Washington State, Utah State.

2009: (Home) Utah State, Louisville. (Away) Oregon.

2010: (Home) Washington State. (Away) Utah State, Iowa State.

2011: (Home) Iowa State, Oregon, Utah State. (Away) Ohio.