Cougars' winning ways winning over fans

Brigham Young University is king of the hill again as the state's favorite college-football program.

Cougar fans outnumber Ute fans 39 percent to 30 percent, in a Dan Jones and Associates poll conducted statewide earlier this month for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV.

That is a reversal from two years ago when Utah fans outnumbered BYU fans, 44 percent to 28 percent, in a similar poll.

BYU for more than two decades was the dominant team in the state — from TV ratings to home-game attendance to number of games won. But two years ago, while Utah was in the midst of an undefeated season and on its way to a Bowl Championship Series game, and BYU was in its third consecutive losing season, fan support for the team up north was growing.

This year, with BYU as Mountain West Conference champion and Utah hoping for second place at best, the plurality of Utahns has shifted loyalties back to the team down south.

Fair-weather fans?

Utah athletic director Chris Hill: "I know that we've got a lot of loyal fans, and they've been very supportive of us. And I know when you win a league championship, that's going to sway some people who are on the fence."

BYU associate athletic director Duff Tittle: "My first thought is that people like a winner. I would guess some who live in the state may not have an affinity one way or another. They get caught up in a team that's most successful. However, I think the hard-core fans are definitely fans of one school or another and that doesn't change."