How a student protest led to a state university changing its name

Almost overnight Dixie State became Utah Tech and the band played on

St. George, Utah

I've said on a number of occasions that I'm convinced God created Utah first. With a strong assist from Mother Nature, of course.

While I allegedly came here to cover a college football game, our afternoon flight afforded those of us with a window seat a unique view of the incredible red cliffs and canyons of Zion National Park, more magnificent even than the Grand Canyon.

On the several occasions when I've managed to visit Zion in person, looking up at those same cliffs and canyons, I could hear the angels singing. Indeed, the whole place has a cathedral-like presence to it.

Utah has five national parks, no doubt more per capita than any state in the country other than Alaska.

In addition to Zion, there are Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef, plus at least a dozen more areas that should be national parks.

My home state of Oregon, beautiful as it is, has just one national park. The gorgeous state of Washington has three. But Utah has five and should probably have 15.

The city of St. George, where the football game took place Saturday night, is a fast-growing city of 106,000 on the rugged high desert (elevation 2,860) in the southern part of the state, 200 miles closer to Las Vegas than it is to Salt Lake City.

While the northern part of the state is known for a number of fabulous ski resorts, the white stuff rarely falls in St. George, and even when it does, it never sticks long enough for kids to make a snowman.