Big Sky Conference adding Southern Utah, Utah Tech in 2026
Utah teams joining up as WAC meets its ultimate demise
Southern Utah's Karlee Manzione (14) catches the ball a moment to short allowing Weber State's Riana Splinter (1) a safe arrival to first base during the fifth inning in game one of the Big Sky Tournament on Thursday, May 11, 2017, at Wildcat Softball Field in Ogden.
Weber State battles Southern Utah in the Big Sky Championships quarterfinals on Thursday, March 9, 2017, at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada.
In this Dec. 2, 2017, photo, Weber State and Southern Utah University meet at the coin toss before an FCS Playoff second-round game in Cedar City.
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- In this 2021 photo, Weber State linebacker Winston Reid (43) hauls down Southern Utah tight end Clayton Johnson (7) in Cedar City.
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Southern Utah’s Karlee Manzione (14) catches the ball a moment to short allowing Weber State’s Riana Splinter (1) a safe arrival to first base during the fifth inning in game one of the Big Sky Tournament on Thursday, May 11, 2017, at Wildcat Softball Field in Ogden.
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Weber State battles Southern Utah in the Big Sky Championships quarterfinals on Thursday, March 9, 2017, at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada.
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- Weer State receiver Ty MacPherson (1) stretches the ball for a touchdown as Utah Tech’s Colby Williams (18) tries to wrestle him down during a game Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden. (ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner)
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- Weber State guard Keith Dinwiddie Jr. (10) drives against Utah Tech’s Isaiah Pope (21) on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Koby McEwen, center, rises for a shot as Southern Utah’s Harrison Butler, right, defends on Monday, Jan. 24, 2022, in Cedar City.
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In this Dec. 2, 2017, photo, Weber State and Southern Utah University meet at the coin toss before an FCS Playoff second-round game in Cedar City.
The easiest solution is on the way for the Big Sky Conference.
The league announced Wednesday afternoon that it will add Southern Utah and Utah Tech to the conference roster in 2026.
The move was first reported Wednesday morning by Matt Brown of Extra Points and then Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, and also sounds a death knell for the WAC.
“The time is right for the Big Sky to bring in Utah Tech and to bring back Southern Utah,” league commissioner Tom Wistrcill said in a news release. “The addition of rising rival athletic departments from these two universities, located squarely within our geographic footprint in the western United States, reinforces the long-term stability and success of our league.
“Amid a rapidly evolving national landscape that each day seemingly pulls college sports farther from its true mission, this move underscores our commitment to a strong and sustainable future at the top of the FCS and across several key sports. Both of these programs bring institutional alignment that will enhance the Big Sky’s tradition as a national leader that continually aspires to elevate the experience for our constituencies.”
The additions bring the Big Sky to 11 full members, with 13 in football, 11 in basketball and volleyball, and 10 playing women’s soccer. With Sacramento State exiting the conference after the 2025-26 school year, bringing on SUU and UTU also keeps the Big Sky in line for automatic NCAA Tournament berths in softball and men’s golf, giving each of those sports seven teams.
It also puts Weber State, Southern Utah and Utah Tech — Utah’s three FCS football schools — in the same conference for the first time.
The moves add stability to softball and men’s golf while giving a welcome boost to women’s soccer. Basketball coaches may soon need to vote on if the league will stay at 18 conference games or go back to 20, like the league staged when SUU and North Dakota previously called the Big Sky home.
It seems likely the Big Sky would bump up to 20 games to play a full double-round-robin slate, especially as the NCAA is set to move to a permanent 32-game basketball schedule starting in 2026, according to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.
Current rules have limited basketball teams to 31 contests if those games include a multi-team event (MTE) or 30 if they don’t. The new rules would give all teams a maximum of 32 games no matter the format. In a 20-game conference schedule, that would still allow Big Sky teams up to 12 nonconference games; currently, most coaches are used to scheduling 12-13 nonconference games each season.
There’s also a proposal to increase the number of FCS football games from 11 to 12 in every regular season, which — especially with a shrinking roster of nonconference option in the West — may result in the Big Sky ultimately moving to a nine-game conference football schedule.
Dellenger, meanwhile, reported the Division I Council voted Tuesday to deny a waiver to Sacramento State to move up to FBS football without a conference invitation. Sac State is taking all other sports to the Big West and appears football will play as an FCS independent after this season — though school president Luke Wood posted on social media site X that “we still plan to be playing FBS football in 2026.”
Southern Utah (in Cedar City) was a member of the Big Sky from 2012-22, winning a regular-season championship in men’s basketball in 2021 and two in football in 2015 and 2017. The Thunderbirds left for the revamped WAC, where Utah Tech had a home in its now-complete transition from Division II to Division I.
Utah Tech (in St. George) moved to Division I in 2020, completing its journey from its former name Dixie State, going from junior college (1963-2006) and Division II four-year college (2006-20).
The WAC has since disintegrated. In Texas, Sam Houston moved up to FBS while Lamar and Stephen F. Austin joined the Southland Conference. Elsewhere, following the 2025-26 school year, Utah Valley and Cal Baptist are headed to the Big West and Seattle is going back home to the West Coast Conference.
The WAC once had members win a football national championship (BYU, 1984) and play for a men’s basketball national championship (Utah, 1998). Then the next iteration saw Boise State rise to football prominence and also gave Utah State a home from 2005-13. The 1962 launch of the conference had Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming as charter members.
But the WAC may now be permanently lost to history. According to Dellenger, the alliance between the WAC and Atlantic Sun will split with football schools and non-football schools separating themselves into two leagues.
The seven FCS football schools will form the United Athletic Conference: Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, Tarleton State and West Georgia, with an eighth member in non-football-playing UT-Arlington. The remaining non-football schools will make up the Atlantic Sun: Bellarmine, Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville U, Lipscomb, North Florida, Queens and Stetson.
BIG SKY ROSTER
Beginning July 1, 2026
Full members (11, who also constitute the basketball, volleyball and women’s golf lineups): Eastern Washington, Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Southern Utah, Utah Tech, Weber State
Football (13): 11 full members, plus affiliate members Cal Poly and UC Davis
Women’s soccer (10): 11 full members, minus Montana State
Softball (7): Idaho State, Montana, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Southern Utah, Utah Tech, Weber State
Men’s golf (7): Eastern Washington, Idaho, Francis Marion, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, Utah Tech, Weber State
Women’s tennis (9): Full members minus Northern Colorado and Southern Utah
Men’s tennis (8): Full members minus Northern Colorado, Southern Utah and Utah Tech
