It took Greg Kelser 37 years to return to the Jon M. Huntsman Center, so he took his time absorbing the nostalgia on a day in 2016. He looked down at the shiny maple hardwood and surveyed the 15,000 signature Utah-red seats.
He then gazed up at the dome that towers over the steep concourse. This was where Kelser hoisted the 1979 national championship trophy as a forward for Michigan State. It’s where Hall of Fame dynamos Larry Bird and Magic Johnson etched the first chapter of what would become a legendary rivalry in the most-watched college basketball game of all time.
Memories surely flooded Kelser’s mind until a voice interrupted the daydream. “ Are you back here to go down memory lane?” Utah facility manager Steve Pyne asked. He walked with Kelser down to the floor where he recreated plays from his glory days.
Then Pyne presented Kelser with a piece of the old 1979 hardwood that had been stowed away in a storage closet for over 35 years. “It was a highlight, reflecting back on the 35-40 years of the arena’s history,” Pyne, now retired from the job he held for years, said recently as he recalled the interaction. The Huntsman Center still serves as a cathedral for some of the University of Utah’s most memorable moments.
From hosting 81 NCAA Tournament games to Rick Majerus’ legendary Runnin’ Utes run to the Red Rocks’ run to 10 national championships, the 55-year-old arena has seen it all. But — now standing at over a half-century old — the arena h.