Column: New president plants flag with Aggie athletics
Brad L. Mortensen’s first weekend as Utah State University’s 18th president was spent in a place cherished by Aggie students and alumni alike: game day.
He was on the tailgate line, mingling with fans, shaking hands with alumni and hearing chants from students he’d just met. By kickoff, he was in the Maverik Stadium stands, shoulder-to-shoulder with the HURD, leading “The Scotsman” with both arms raised — eyes a little glassy as he soaked in the moment.
“It was hard not to get emotional,” President Mortensen said in an exclusive interview with The Utah Statesman for the “Statesman Sports Desk” podcast. “It really elevates the profile of the university when we have a successful athletics program. It’s really the best way to invite the community in to help build up that camaraderie amongst our students. I’m all in and want to support Aggie athletics as much as I can.”
For Mortensen, who officially began his presidency on Nov. 10, this homecoming is personal. A first-generation college graduate who earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Utah State, he’s returning to the place that helped shape him, and he’s walking into a campus in the middle of a sports renaissance.
This past week alone, Aggie athletics delivered what could be called one of the most successful stretches in school history.
Men’s basketball opened with a 2-0 report, capped by a statement win over top-tier mid-major Virginia Commonwealth University in Texas. Volleyball clinched at least a share of the Mountain West regular-season title with its 15th straight victory, tied for the fourth-longest streak in program history. Women’s soccer captured its third straight Mountain West Championship under head coach Manny Martins and earned another NCAA tournament berth. And football dominated Nevada 51–14 in its most complete performance of the season.
It’s a lot to take in on your first day. But Mortensen, a self-professed sports junkie, seems right at home.
Once a Quarterback, Always an Aggie
Mortensen grew up in Rexburg, Idaho, a rich sports climate. He played “just about everything,” from baseball and basketball to football and track. He even had a brief stint as a practice-squad quarterback at Ricks College before realizing his future would be in higher education, not behind center.
“I did that for a year and realized I probably just should focus on my education,” he said with a laugh. “But I’ve remained a big sports fan ever since. I love tracking collegiate sports, even though they’re kind of crazy right now.”
The president’s lifelong love of competition still shapes how he sees a university’s identity.
“Some folks see [sports] as maybe not our primary focus,” he said, “I just think that sports do such a big service to the rest of the university.”
Mortensen’s memories of Logan are filled with that same energy. He recalls packed nights at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum during the Big West era: late ESPN games, Gossner Classic, milk cartons flying from the stands after the first basket.
“They had to stop the game, and the refs got really upset, and they had to mop up the court,” he recalled, laughing. “That long tradition of Aggie Spirit and the student section really supporting the school — that’s something I remember when I was a student here.”
That same spirit Mortensen had in the ‘90s came full circle last Saturday, when he joined the HURD for “The Scotsman.”
“That was hard not to get emotional when I was doing that, just thinking back about being a student and [what] all of that means,” Mortensen said. “That was a very special experience.”
It meant even more that his son joined him, jumping into the crowd unprompted.
“He said, ‘Everybody was so nice, and they were welcoming me and asking me about what I’m doing.’ It gave him just a really positive experience,” Mortensen said. “It’s great to cheer on our teams, but it’s also important to find that camaraderie amongst the students, and it really helps fulfill part of our purpose of the university to help people feel belonging and connected and to make those networks that will last a lifetime.”
A shared blueprint with Cam Walker
Mortensen’s arrival follows the hiring of Cam Walker as athletic director in September, both new faces at the helm of an athletics department preparing to move to the Pac-12 next fall.
The two leaders share not only a vision but also a hometown: Rexburg. Mortensen and Walker attended the same high school in the small town and even shared a connection with a familiar basketball coach.
“When we were watching the basketball game, I said, ‘Hey, you know I’m a Billy Hawkins basketball disciple,’” Mortensen said. “I’m older than Cam, but we both knew him, and one of his sons was Cam’s age, and he just played real hard.”
Walker, a former associate athletic director at the University of Tennessee, brings SEC experience. Mortensen brings nearly a decade of leadership in the Big Sky Conference, where he chaired the Presidents’ Council. Together, they see opportunity in contrast.
“I think Cam and I have very different experiences, with him being in the SEC for these last five or so years when he was at Tennessee and getting a sense of how that works,” Mortensen said. “I was in the Big Sky Conference and got to work closely with our commissioner and see things at a different level.”
The Pac-12 transition brings a mix of new challenges and opportunities, from travel logistics and recruiting to media rights and institutional branding. Mortensen’s top priority is ensuring Utah State’s interests are represented in every discussion and negotiation.
“The most important thing is showing up to represent Utah State and to make sure that our Aggie interests are well represented so that our teams and our student athletes and our fans and boosters can all feel like we’re doing everything we can to compete for championships in the in the new PAC,” Mortensen said.
The arms race of facilities and NIL
Mortensen knows competing for championships now requires more than effort. It takes a lot of funding — and a lot of creativity.
During his seven-year presidency at Weber State, he raised nearly $400 million for academics, athletics and research, including major facilities like the Miller Advanced Research Solutions Center. At USU, he expects the same intensity.
“Before the days of NIL, how we competed to attract students is having the best facilities: the best weight rooms, the best locker rooms, training facilities, food tables and all of that,” Mortensen said. “All of a sudden, the ground shifted on us. Now we can’t just raise money for facilities, but we have to raise money for NIL.”
He plans to work closely with Walker to hire new fundraising staff — including a chief revenue officer — and to gather input directly from coaches about their program needs.
“We need to sit down and figure out what that right mix is,” Mortensen said. “We wish it wasn’t this way, but you’ve got to have the money for facilities, to pay coaches, to pay for the student-athletes. We want to make sure that that it’s never the lack of resources that hold us back from being as good as we can be.”
Putting student-athletes first
Amid all his talk of strategy, Mortensen continually returns to the human side of college sports.
“First and foremost, on my mind is mental health of student-athletes,” he said. “I think a lot of folks think that, ‘Oh, wow, you’re a student-athlete. You have a scholarship, you might have an NIL, you get to play the sport that you love, your life must be wonderful.’ And unfortunately, we know the pressures of that situation are really great too.”
He referenced a recent NFL tragedy to highlight how fragile athlete well-being can be.
“I think we have to really concentrate on making sure our student-athletes are getting that support that they need for their own well-being and their mental health,” Mortensen said. “That’s a real priority for me.”
This is a top priority for Mortensen — one that goes far beyond wins, trophies or national recognition.
“It’s not about me Brad, but it’s more about the university supporting them,” he said. “If they can see that through me, then that’s something I always want to try to convey.”
Building stability in a portal era
Mortensen knows the coming years will test every college president: transfer-portal turnover, coaching moves and shifting budgets. He wants Utah State to be a place people stay.
“We want to bring the best people to Utah State and then keep them here,” he said. “Hopefully, that’s something that I can convey being in this role as an Aggie myself, as an alumnus. We’re building for stability for the future, and we want people to come and stay who can contribute to that success.”
He pointed to ongoing staffing searches in the athletic department as “critical hires” that will shape the program’s next decade.
“I think it’s so important with the staffing decisions that Cam is making now in the athletics department,” Mortensen said. “Those are really important for us to get good people here who can position us as we move forward.”
A president who gets it
Mortensen’s first day revealed a leader who understands how deeply sports pulse through Cache Valley. He’s analytical when talking conference realignment but just as comfortable laughing about milk cartons at the Spectrum or getting choked up mid- “Scotsman.”
He’s a university president, but he’s also the kid from Rexburg who wore a helmet once, a dad proud to see his son with the HURD and a first-gen Aggie who knows what it means to feel part of something bigger.
“Keep coming out,” he said. “Keep supporting all of our teams. We will try to do what we can to continue to elevate that as we move towards the Pac-12.”