THE ORIGINAL TAILGATE BUS AND PIG ROAST
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH FOOTBALL
527 GUARDSMAN WAY, SLC, UTAH
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We are The Utah Pig Bus!
Meet the Pig Bus Crew.
The Utah Pig Bus crew is one of the oldest and most celebrated tailgate crews at the University of Utah. Best known for mixing up the best pre-game food in the state, our tailgate menus feature whole roasted pigs, leg of lamb, bacon explosions, fry fest (you name it we fry it) and a myriad of other inventive culinary concoctions designed keep our guests in awe and to throw down the gauntlet to other tailgate crews to raise their game.
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You may say “Well you’ve never won the tailgate cooking competitions,” and you’d be right. That’s because we designed the competition and wrote the rules (literally) for the Crimson Club. Wouldn’t really be fair for us to win every year, but we love that it’s helped raise the food game on campus and we enjoy seeing what the contestants come up with. We came up with the idea of our annual pre-season good luck pig roast for the Utah football team with Urban Meyer, and roasted the very first pig in his backyard while sitting around his pool. We’ve been serving up our annual Pig roast/Filipino feast every year since.
We love that visiting fans are in awe of the tailgating community here at the University of Utah and we enjoy creating a welcoming and collegiate environment for those fans to enjoy their visit. We’re very proud of the vibrant tailgating spirit we’ve helped build and we look forward to seeing it grow well into the future.
The "Godfather" of the Utah Pig Bus, Coach Urban Meyer gave the Pig Crew and the Utah Pig Bus tailgate it's start with the 1st ever Utah Football Team pig roast during Utah Football's BCS-busting and historic undefeated season in 2004. Coach Urban Meyer is now the Head Coach at The OHIO State University, our second favorite team behind our Utah Runnin' Utes!
"Win or lose, we're going to cook, eat, and drink and do it again the next weekend."
If this were a movie this would be like the opening credits with the dramatic voiceover introducing our back story over a montage of childhood pics with a moving soundtrack, both stirring and endearing. But it’s not… so here are some words. A long time ago, in a galaxy fa… in Ann Arbor, Michigan , a few die-hard Utah fans made the trek to see our beloved Utes play the Wolverines in one of football’s most hallowed halls, the Big House. It was an experience that would change our lives.
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What struck us, besides some of the most welcoming and hospitable fans you’ll ever meet and the Michigan band playing what was, still to this day, one of the most awe-inspiring versions of Utah Man ever to reach our ears, was what was happening before the game. It seemed that every square foot of grass for miles around the stadium had sprouted a tent and a grill. People weren’t just showing up minutes before the game, they were making it a day-long celebration of their team and their school. They were cooking great food, drinking something frosty and enjoying game day with their friends, family and total strangers they were happy to meet.
We knew we wanted this at the University of Utah and we set out to make it happen.
Sure, people had been tailgating in the Guardsman lot for years, but it seemed like an RV and an AARP card were the price of admission and felt closed to outsiders. We wanted a big, open, welcoming party that showed the spirit and enthusiasm of Ute fans. Clearly we weren’t alone and, one pig roast at a time, within a few years tailgating at the U grew into the epic fun we experience today.
THE UTAH PIG BUS MENU
Meet Porky.
In 2005 we purchased a gently used, 1987 Bluebird school bus from the Humboldt County School district and after an epic road trip across northern California and Nevada, we lovingly transformed her into Porky, our mobile HQ and Mascot. She’s served us loyally ever since.
MEET THE NEWEST
ROASTING BOX MEAT
The Rack of Lamb
We're always looking for new things to cook up in our La Caja China roasting box and this year, we're gonna do the racks of lamb, or maybe even a whole sheep leg!
Heaven in a glass..
THE PIG BUS
BLOODY MARY BAR
Every year we put together a Fancy Bloody Mary Bar for an early day game where you can put together your dream Bloody Mary, complete with bacon from our friends at Tender Belly Bacon!
BACON EXPLOSION
AN ANNUAL PIG BUS STAPLE
A staple of our tailgate menu lineup, our Bacon Explosion is a hit every time with smoke these delicious loafs of bacon, sausage, and more bacon goodness. Check out the schedule to learn when we'll be smoking up the Bacon Explosion!
ROASTED WHOLE PIG
ANNUAL PIG BUS TRADITION
An annual tradition and our namesake, the PIG BUS, we roast a whole roasted pig every year for the biggest home game for the year. It's a delicious tradition started on 2001 and have continued (except for Covid year) every season.