SALT LAKE CITY— One of the first proclamations Mark Harlan made in his first week on the job as Utah’s athletic director last summer was actually more of an open invite. Any Power 5 programs around the country that would like to visit Salt Lake City, you’re welcome. Any program that would like to entice the Utah faithful to plan a new road trip, they’d be game, Harlan vowed.



It’s been just over a year since Harlan left the humidity and palm trees of Tampa, Fla., for the snow-capped mountains perched behind Salt Lake City and Utah’s AD delivered on his promise. On Wednesday, the Utes announced a future home-and-home nonconference series with Arkansas, starting in 2026 inside Rice-Eccles Stadium. The SEC is coming to SLC. Utah’s return leg in Fayetteville, Ark., will come two years later in 2028.



As Harlan passed the one-year mark on the job, The Athletic caught up with the Ute AD to discuss a variety of topics, including his...