Southern Utah, Utah Tech officially join the Big Sky Conference
League home to 3 Beehive State members for 1st time
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- In this Dec. 2, 2017, photo, Southern Utah quarterback Patrick Tyler (3) throws a pass against Weber State during the second round of the FCS Playoffs in Cedar City.
Utah’s representation in the Big Sky Conference just tripled.
On Wednesday, Southern Utah and Utah Tech officially became the league’s newest members, bumping the Big Sky to 11 full members ahead of the 2026-27 school year.
Both schools announced their intent to leave the now-dead WAC last year, which also saw 30-year member Sacramento State announce its departure for the Big West, who officially adopted the Hornets on Wednesday.
SUU and UTU will join the Big Sky in football, basketball (men’s and women’s), women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, softball, and men’s golf. Like Northern Colorado, the Thunderbirds dropped their men’s and women’s tennis programs in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, SUU joins the newly formed Pac-12 as a gymnastics member; UTU joins the Mountain West in baseball and men’s soccer.
Returning to familiar ground, SUU previously spent 10 years in the Big Sky (2012-22) and enjoyed two regular-season football titles (2015, 2017), the 2014 softball tournament title, the 2021 men’s basketball regular-season title, and the 2019 men’s outdoor track and field title.
Farther south in St. George, UTU afforded multiple regular-season titles during its 16-year run at the Division II level. The Trailblazers bumped up to Division I in 2020 to join the former WAC.
“We are excited and proud to officially be members of the Big Sky Conference,” Ken Beazer, Utah Tech athletic director, said in a release. “As we begin our third decade of NCAA competition, it is gratifying to know that all the hard work and sacrifices, and the successes we achieved over those first 20 years, has led us to this great day.
“The Big Sky is a conference that is known nationwide for its stability and athletic prowess,” Beazer added. “As I said when we made the announcement last year, I believe Utah Tech University has a lot to offer the Big Sky as it continues to evolve into one of the premier conferences in the country.”
It’s the first time FCS football schools Weber State, SUU and UTU will compete in the same conference. Weber State meets both new members this season, traveling to battle the Thunderbirds on Sept. 5 in Cedar City (which is a previously scheduled nonconference game kept on the books), and hosts the Trailblazers for a regular-season finale on Nov. 21.
The WAC breakup ultimately saw the conference’s remaining three member schools — Abilene Christian, Tarleton State and UT-Arlington — fall under the United Athletic Conference (UAC), which previously existed as a football-only conference between the WAC and Atlantic Sun. That new conference includes the ASUN’s football-sponsoring members.
In Utah County, July 1 also sees non-football school Utah Valley following Cal Baptist into the aforementioned Big West as full members. The Big West has two schools in Cal Poly and UC Davis who continue as Big Sky affiliate football members.
Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.
