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Utah sports briefs: Mammoth bringing traveling fan fest and clinics to Ogden

By BRETT HEIN - Standard-Examiner | Jul 8, 2025

Karl DeBlaker, Associated Press

Utah Hockey Club's Alexander Kerfoot (15) moves the puck in front of Carolina Hurricanes' Jackson Blake (53) during an NHL game on Feb. 5, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C.

Mammoth bringing fan fest to Ogden

The Utah Mammoth hockey team announced “Mammoth Week” where the NHL club will travel the state with various players and personnel providing an experience of youth clinics and a fan fest.

In a week spanning July 26 to Aug. 2, the “mobile fan fest” will make a stop in Ogden. That’s set for Thursday, July 31, from 4-8 p.m. at the Weber County Ice Sheet.

The mobile experience will offer “a series of engaging, team-hosted events including free street hockey clinics and affordable on-ice clinics where youth participants will learn skills like target shooting and stick handling,” a news release from the team says.

The day will also include a retail shop, giveaways, “immersive activities,” and surprise guests that will include Mammoth players and personnel, the team says.

Information about clinic times and registration can be found online at utahmammothyouth.com/mammoth-week.

Mammoth president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong says Mammoth Week allows the team to “bring the excitement, energy, and spirit of the Mammoth directly into communities throughout the state. Whether you’ve played hockey for years or are picking up a stick for the first time, there will be something for everyone.”

The tour will make stops in Logan, Provo, Park City, Cottonwood, Ogden, Enoch and St. George.

Big Sky gives commissioner a new contract

Tom Wistrcill is set to remain Big Sky Conference commissioner through 2030, the league announced Tuesday, after signing Wistrcill to a contract extension.

Wistrcill is in his seventh year as the league’s leader and the new deal keeps him for five more years.

“His keen grasp of the myriad issues around college sports, their potential impact on our membership, and how to navigate this unprecedented space has us positioned to not just survive but even thrive in today’s modernized NCAA,” said C. Scott Green, Idaho’s school president and current chair of the Big Sky Presidents’ Council.

In its announcement, the conference touts his record-setting achievements for revenue generation and media exposure. Wistrcill has been one of only two FCS commissioners to sit on the college football officiating board since 2021, and has served on the NCAA men’s basketball committee since 2022. He was also recently elected as vice president of the Collegiate Commissioners Association, putting him in line to next serve that body as president.

Mountain West adds one of its new schools early

A score of conference changes for colleges in the West are currently set to take place on July 1, 2026, but one of them was enacted early.

The Mountain West Conference announced Tuesday that it will add Grand Canyon University immediately and that GCU will compete in the league for the upcoming 2025-26 school year.

GCU’s addition means, for one school year, the MWC will be a 14-team league that includes Utah State before the 2026 split that will see several longtime members leave for the revived Pac-12 Conference.

In 2026, the Mountain West will consist of Air Force, Grand Canyon (non-football), Hawaii, New Mexico, Nevada, Northern Illinois, San Jose State, UC Davis (non-football), UNLV, UTEP and Wyoming.

The Pac-12 recently added Texas State as a full member to give it eight football schools starting in 2026, at which point the Pac-12 will include Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga (non-football), Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas State, Utah State and Washington State.

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