CEDAR CITY, Utah – In a major move to ensure long-term stability for athletics, Southern Utah University will be joining the Big Sky Conference in 2026.
First reported by Matt Brown of Extra Points and followed by Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, the Thunderbirds will be joined by fellow WAC member and rival Utah Tech in the move to the Big Sky.
“We are excited to be rejoining the Big Sky Conference,” said SUU President Mindy Benson in an official release from the school.
“This move sets a strong foundation for the future of SUU Athletics by expanding our visibility and creating meaningful opportunities for growth. We’re looking forward to renewing friendly in-state rivalries with Weber State and Utah Tech and are eager to strengthen our connection to all the Big Sky Universities.”
The additions of Southern Utah and Utah Tech give the Big Sky 11 members in 2026, following the recent departure of Sacramento State last week.
Currently a member of the Western Athletic Conference, SUU will return to the conference it previously called home from 2012 to 2022.
“Thunderbird Nation is thrilled to be returning to the Big Sky Conference,” said Interim Athletic Director Tom Higbee. “The Big Sky is a premier conference with a proud history and a strong competitive spirit. We’re grateful for the opportunity to rejoin and look forward to contributing to the league’s continued success. I’m excited for our student-athletes, coaches, alumni, and fans and appreciate their unwavering support of Thunderbird Athletics.”
The Thunderbirds will join the conference in all possible sports, including football, which is currently part of the United Athletic Conference. As of now, gymnastics will remain in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, as the Big Sky does not sponsor the sport.
The switch to the Big Sky also means that all three of the states’ FCS football programs – Southern Utah, Utah Tech, and Weber State – will be together in one conference.
How we got here
Southern Utah most recently joined the WAC in 2022, alongside a group of four Texas schools, which gave the conference 12 members.
Thanks to a number of other conference realignment moves, however, the WAC was never able to keep many of the schools that joined.
For the 2025-26 athletics year, the conference was slated to have eight full members, dipping to five for the 2026-27 season following the departures of Grand Canyon (Mountain West), Utah Valley (Big West), Seattle U, and California Baptist (both West Coast Conference).
Now, the WAC and Atlantic Sun will reportedly form an alliance, where five football members of the ASUN will move to the WAC in 2026. The conference will then rebrand as the United Athletic Conference, the moniker of the current WAC-ASUN football conference that Southern Utah will play a final season in this fall.
With one year remaining in the current iteration of the WAC, six of the seven Division I schools in Utah will have been members of the conference at some point since its founding in 1962. Weber State, a founding member of the Big Sky, is the only Utah school never to be a WAC member.
A familiar home
As mentioned previously, SUU is no stranger to the Big Sky Conference.
The Thunderbirds first joined the conference in 2012 from the Summit League, under the direction of Athletic Director Ken Beazer.
Beazer is now the Athletic Director at Utah Tech, who is slated to make the move to the conference alongside Southern Utah next year.
During a decade-long run in the conference the first time around, SUU had several memorable moments. This included nine conference titles won across all sports, highlighted by the best season in the football program’s history in 2017.
