The Big Sky Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. As of 2023, full member institutions are located in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Two affiliate members from California are football–only participants.
The Great West Conference (GWC) was an NCAA college athletic conference in the continental United States. Originally a football-only league, it became an all-sports entity during the 2008–09 season. The GWC stopped sponsoring football following the 2011 season. The conference became defunct when four of the remaining five full member schools became members of other conferences on July 1, 2013.
Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now has over 1,800 graduates each year with baccalaureate and other graduate degrees from its six colleges. SUU offers more than 140 undergraduate and 19 graduate programs. More than 10,000 students attend SUU.
The Southern Utah Thunderbirds are the varsity athletic teams representing Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsors thirteen teams including five men's sports: basketball, cross country, football, golf, and track and field and eight women's sports: basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball. The baseball program was dropped after the 2011–12 season. The Thunderbirds compete in NCAA Division I and joined the Big Sky Conference on July 1, 2012, after departing from The Summit League.
The Idaho State Bengals football program represents Idaho State University in college football. The Bengals play their home games at Holt Arena, an indoor facility on campus in Pocatello, Idaho. Idaho State is a charter member of the Big Sky Conference in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Through the 2022 season, the Bengals have an all-time record of 478–545–20 (.468). Idaho State's current head coach is Cody Hawkins, who was hired on December 11, 2022.
The Southern Utah Thunderbirds football program is a college football team that represents Southern Utah University (SUU). With a history dating back to 1963, SUU currently competes in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision as a member of the United Athletic Conference.
The 2013 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth year head coach Ed Lamb and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum. This was their second year as a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in Big Sky play to finish in a four way tie for fourth place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost in the first round to Sam Houston State.
The 2013 Sacramento State Hornets football team represented California State University, Sacramento as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by Marshall Sperbeck in his seventh in final season as head coach, Sacramento State compiled an overall record of 5–7 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, placing eighth in the Big Sky. The Hornets played home games at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California.
The 2015 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Ed Lamb and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum. This was their fourth year as a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 8–4, 7–1 in Big Sky play to be crowned Big Sky champion for the first time. They received the Big Sky's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs where they lost in the first round to Sam Houston State.
The Grand Canyon Rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks and the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. The Grand Canyon Trophy is presented to the winner of the game. The Lumberjacks are the current holder of the trophy.
The 2015–16 Southern Utah Thunderbirds basketball team represented Southern Utah University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Thunderbirds were led by fourth-year head coach Nick Robinson and played their home games at the Centrum Arena in Cedar City, Utah. They were members of the Big Sky Conference. The Thunderbirds finished the season 5–24, 3–15 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for 11th place. They lost in the first round of the Big Sky tournament to North Dakota.
The 2016 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Demario Warren and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum. This was their fifth year as a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 5–3 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for fourth place.
The 2017 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Demario Warren and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah as sixth-year as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 9–3, 7–1 in Big Sky play to earn a share of the conference championship with Weber State. They received the conference's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost to Weber State in the second round.
The 2017 Weber State Wildcats football team represented Weber State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats were led by fourth-year head coach Jay Hill and played their games at Stewart Stadium as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 11–3, 7–1 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for the Big Sky championship with Southern Utah. Due to their head-to-head loss to Southern Utah in the regular season, they did not receive the Big Sky's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs, but did receive an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, their second straight trip to the playoffs. In the first round, they defeated Western Illinois. In the second round, they avenged their regular season loss to Southern Utah. In the quarterfinals, they lost to eventual national runner-up, James Madison.
The 2018 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Demario Warren and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah as seventh-year as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 1–10, 1–7 in Big Sky play to finish in 12th place.
The 2019 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Demario Warren and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah as eighth-year members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a five-way tie for ninth place.
The 2020 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Demario Warren and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah. They played as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
The 2020–21 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team represented the University of Idaho in the Big Sky Conference during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by second-year head coach Zac Claus, the Vandals played their home games on campus at Memorial Gymnasium in Moscow, Idaho.
The 2021 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team represented Southern Utah University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Demario Warren and played their home games at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah. They played their final season as a member of the Big Sky Conference, as they would depart for the Western Athletic Conference for the 2022 season.
The 2021–22 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team represented Southern Utah University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Thunderbirds, led by sixth-year head coach Todd Simon, played their home games at the America First Event Center in Cedar City, Utah as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 23–12, 14–6 in Big Sky play to finish in second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament to Portland State. They received an invitation to The Basketball Classic tournament where they defeated Kent State, UTEP, and Portland to advance to the tournament semifinals. There they lost to Fresno State.
