Crimson Corner Podcast Michelle Bodkin

Repeat guest and founder of Athletes For Life, Hank Mondaca, along with Crimson Collective Director of Development, Drew Watson, join host Michelle Bodkin to discuss joining forces for year two of the Ute Reservation football camp.

Watson talks about how the Crimson Collective has done in year one of their launch, goals for the upcoming competitive season, and what it means to add a charity to their roster that deals specifically with the Ute Tribe. 

Mondaca then goes into detail about plans for year two of the Athletes For Life camp, how the dynamic changes not just having former Utah athletes as coaches, but current players too, and the hopes he has for further building the bridge between the athletes that wear the Drum and Feather and the Ute Tribe they represent.

Both Watson and Mondaca wrap up by giving details on how fans can get involved with the Crimson Collective and Athletes For Life.

You can follow Michelle Bodkin, Athletes For Life, and the Crimson Collective on X.

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah football will be holding their annual "Ute Proud" game against Cal on Saturday, October 14, 2023. Just in time, Crimson Corner host Michelle Bodkin sat down with Ute Tribe member Cameron Cuch to discuss the relationship between the University of Utah and Ute Tribe. 

The pair discusses the rich Ute Tribe history, the evolution of the relationship between the university and tribe, the halftime performance, how the relationship between the Utes and Utah can continue to grow, and much more. 

You can follow Michelle Bodkin on X @BodkinKSLsports.

On this very special edition of the Crimson Corner host Michelle Bodkin invites former Utah football players Lauvale Sape and Kawika Casco along with Sape's wife Sarah to talk about the devastation from the Maui fire and what they are doing to help.

The Sapes are using their Sape Foundation to help raise funds for the island of Maui where they and Casco are from. Casco who works for the Maui Fire Department describes his experience trying to save lives as he watched his home burn up.

All three give a heartfelt plea to help them raise funds that will be used for recovery in Maui as well as a big thank you to their Utah Athletics Ohana. Make sure to look for Lauvale, Sarah and Kawika at Thursday's opener against Florida during the first quarter for more information.

You can donate to the Sape Foundation here.

This week's Crimson Corner features head Utah women's basketball coach Lynne Roberts. Host Michelle Bodkin askes Roberts about the team's recent successes and what is next. The pair go into the roster both returning and new while taking a look at a memorable moment from the Utes' recent Sweet 16 trip.

Michelle and Roberts then turn the conversation to asking for help. Roberts goes into detail about the advice she got from Stanford's Tara VanDerveer and the input she received from various other Pac-12 women's coaches in improving the product she puts out on the floor at Utah. Finally, Roberts discusses picking Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham's brain along with cues she's taken on team branding from the Red Rocks.

Crimson Corner returns with the first student-athlete host Michelle Bodkin ever got to know well and ultimately led her to covering sports in Utah safety Robert "RoJo" Johnson. Michelle and Johnson take a trip down memory lane to their criminology class in 2009 shortly after the Utes' Sugar Bowl victory.

The duo discusses the 2008 BCS Busters' upcoming induction into the Crimson Club Hall of Fame, how that team has remained close nearly 15 years later, and what it means knowing their success helped launch Utah's football's tremendous growth over the past 13 seasons in the Pac-12. 

RoJo and Michelle then turn to the current state of affairs in college football discussing NIL, how Utah is managing it thus far, and why the coaching stability that head coach Kyle Whittingham has provided has allowed the program to flourish. Finally, the two get into what Johnson has been up lately including a new job at the University of Utah, running youth football camps, and talking about social health with other former Utes David Kozlowski and Kenneth Scott.

You can follow Robert Johnson on Instagram @robertljohnson32 and Michelle Bodkin @BodkinKSLsports.

Crimson Corner resumes with host and KSL Sports Utes Insider Michelle Bodkin welcoming in former Utah football star and defensive coordinator Steve F. Hallsey. 

Hallsey played for the Utes in the mid-70's before being named linebackers coach and defensive coordinator immediately after graduating. He discusses the challenges he faced as a young coordinator, the similarities between himself and Brian Johnson, how former BYU and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young shaped his career trajectory and much more.

Hallsey then goes into the experience of being invited by his former players to help participate in Athletes For Life's football camp on the Uintah-Ouray Ute Reservation and the importance of giving the reservation kids more opportunities to see what is possible in life.

Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for KSLsports.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports

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