In the Urban Meyer years, a group of Utah fans roasted a pig for the football team. They've been the Pig Crew ever since.
They bought a used school bus and named it Porky. They brine a 120-pound hog for at least eight hours and roast it whole in a wooden box. On a home Saturday they feed 60 to 100 people out of the Guardsman lot.
In 2024 they wanted a better view, so they put a deck on the roof. It took 86 hours to build, and it's rated for about 9,000 pounds. They call it the Bacon Balcony.
None of it is official. The crew says so on its own site: no ties to the university, the athletic department or any booster club. It's friends, a bus and a pig, for more than two decades.
The view from up there is "the best view in the tailgate lot at the University of Utah," Ryan Lufkin, the crew's self-described ringmaster, told FOX 13.
Who the Pig Crew is
The Utah Pig Bus crew was founded by Welby Evangelista and Ryan Lufkin. The friends started tailgating together in 1999. The name came from a preseason pig roast they put on for Utah's team in the Urban Meyer years, and the bus followed. They've written about Ute tailgating for KSL, and the crew has been on FOX 13 and a tailgating podcast.
Porky and the Bacon Balcony
Porky is a used school bus that lives in the Guardsman lot on game days. The Bacon Balcony went on its roof before Utah's first Big 12 season in 2024. Ryan Morgan built it from lightweight aluminum, with scaffolding planks for the deck because they don't get slippery. About a dozen people fit up top at a time, by the crew's invitation.
What's cooking
The headline is a whole hog in a La Caja China roasting box: about 120 pounds, butterflied and brined at least eight hours in a recipe the crew won't share. One big pig a year is the tradition.
The rest of the season runs on a theme each week. In 2024 that meant Navajo tacos, a chuck wagon breakfast, a chili verde cook-off, brisket with funeral potatoes, and Maid-Rite sandwiches. Bacon explosions and leg of lamb show up too.
A Holy War Saturday
BYU is the game the pig used to wait for. In the Mountain West years the crew saved its roast for BYU or the biggest home game, and in 2024 the BYU menu was billed as the "Pig Bus World Famous Whole Hog Roast" against "The Team Down South." The menu changes year to year: for the 2026 BYU game the crew posted a Dirty Casserole Carnival. Visiting fans are welcome at the bus, though the crew has said BYU gear is "discouraged."
How to find the Pig Bus
The bus parks in the Guardsman lot at 527 Guardsman Way, across from the Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center and a short walk from Rice-Eccles Stadium. Look for the school bus with a deck on the roof. Crew rules: everyone's welcome, alcohol is 21 and over, nothing is sold, and the upper deck is by invitation. A wristband fundraiser supports each season.
Can't miss
Porky, the school bus with the Bacon Balcony on the roof, in the Guardsman lot across from the Eccles Football Center.
The rest of game day, from the lots to the rules at the gate, is in our Rice-Eccles Stadium tailgating guide.
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Up on the Bacon Balcony. Photos: @utahpigbus
Who runs the Utah Pig Bus?
A crew of Utah fans founded by Welby Evangelista and Ryan Lufkin. They call themselves the Pig Crew, and they aren't affiliated with the university.
Where is the Utah Pig Bus?
In the Guardsman lot at 527 Guardsman Way, across from the Eccles Football Center and a short walk from Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Can anyone visit the Utah Pig Bus?
Yes. Visiting fans are welcome, alcohol is 21 and over, and nothing is sold. The upper deck is by the crew's invitation.
What is the Bacon Balcony?
A deck on the roof of the Pig Bus, added in 2024. It's built from aluminum with scaffolding-plank decking and holds about a dozen people at a time.
No. 02 in Tailgate Legends.
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