Grand Canyon Trophy Game

Grand Canyon Trophy Game

Northern Arizona Lumberjacks Southern Utah Thunderbirds
First meeting	September 11, 1982 Northern Arizona 36, Southern Utah 15
Latest meeting	October 16, 2021 Northern Arizona 59, Southern Utah 35
Next meeting	September 13, 2025
Trophy	Grand Canyon Trophy
Statistics
Meetings total	26
All-time series	Northern Arizona leads, 16–10
Largest victory	Northern Arizona 53, Southern Utah 3 (1983 and 1993)
Longest win streak	Northern Arizona, 5 (2001–2010)
Current win streak	Northern Arizona, 3 (2021–present)

120km
75miles

Northern Arizona

Southern Utah

   

Locations of Northern Arizona and Southern Utah

The Grand Canyon Trophy Game ^[1] (also known as the Grand Canyon Rivalry ^{[2] [3]} is a series of American college football games, described by some as a 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.

Series history

Between 1982 and 2011, Northern Arizona and Southern Utah played fifteen times as non-conference opponents. Since 1970, Northern Arizona has been a member of the Big Sky Conference, playing at a Division I level. Southern Utah's division and conference affiliation fluctuated during this time. However, in 2011, the Big Sky conference expanded to 13 football-playing members, and Southern Utah University was extended an all-sports invitation. ^[4] Since then, the Lumberjacks and Thunderbirds have competed every year. In 2012, the Grand Canyon Trophy was introduced as a traveling trophy that would go to the winner. ^[5] The trophy was first won by Southern Utah by a score of 35–29. ^[6] In 2022, Southern Utah left the Big Sky Conference for the Western Athletic Conference. The two schools have scheduled a 12-game home and home series for the 2028 through 2039 seasons. ^[7] On June 25, 2025, the Big Sky Conference announced that Southern Utah will rejoin the conference effective July 1, 2026. ^[8]

Game results

Northern Arizona victories

Southern Utah victories

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 September 11, 1982 Flagstaff, AZ Northern Arizona 36–15 2 September 10, 1983 Flagstaff, AZ Northern Arizona 53–3 3 August 30, 1986 Flagstaff, AZ Southern Utah 27–17 4 September 3, 1988 Flagstaff, AZ Northern Arizona 55–13 5 September 5, 1992 Flagstaff, AZ Southern Utah 20–17 6 September 4, 1993 Cedar City, UT Northern Arizona 53–3 7 September 10, 1994 Flagstaff, AZ Northern Arizona 59–21 8 September 14, 1996 Flagstaff, AZ #16 Northern Arizona 43–13 9 November 18, 2000 Flagstaff, AZ Southern Utah 27–23 10 September 22, 2001 Cedar City, UT #25 Northern Arizona 41–12 11 September 17, 2005 Flagstaff, AZ Northern Arizona 27–7 12 September 20, 2008 Cedar City, UT Northern Arizona 19–14 13 September 19, 2009 Flagstaff, AZ Northern Arizona 42–39 14 October 2, 2010 Cedar City, UT Northern Arizona 26–23 No. Date Location Winner Score 15 November 19, 2011 Flagstaff, AZ Southern Utah 27–24 16 November 10, 2012 Flagstaff, AZ Southern Utah 35–29 3OT 17 November 23, 2013 Cedar City, UT #10 Northern Arizona 20–10 18 November 22, 2014 Flagstaff, AZ Southern Utah 22–14 19 November 21, 2015 Cedar City, UT #20 Southern Utah 49–41 20 November 19, 2016 Flagstaff, AZ Southern Utah 48–21 21 November 18, 2017 Cedar City, UT #14 Southern Utah 48–20 22 September 22, 2018 Flagstaff, AZ Northern Arizona 31–23 23 November 16, 2019 Cedar City, UT Southern Utah 31–30 24 February 27, 2021 Flagstaff, AZ Northern Arizona 34–33 25 April 10, 2021 Cedar City, UT Northern Arizona 28–20 26 October 16, 2021 Flagstaff, AZ Northern Arizona 59–35 Series: Northern Arizona leads 16–10

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. "Portland State Sails Past Southern Utah Late; Other Big Sky Football Recaps". Big Sky Conference. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
2. "SUU football: Much at stake in this year's Grand Canyon Rivalry". The Spectrum. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
3. "SUU football: Demario Warren faces former teammate in Grand Canyon Rivalry". North Shore Now. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
4. "SUU football: How SUU-NAU became a rivalry". The Spectrum. November 16, 2016.
5. "Northern Arizona and Southern Utah to Play for HintonBurdick Grand Canyon Trophy". Northern Arizona University Athletics. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
6. "SUU Looks to Repeat in HintonBurdick Grand Canyon Trophy Game". Southern Utah University Athletics. November 21, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
7. Kelley, Kevin (June 29, 2021). "NAU, Southern Utah schedule 12-game football series for 2028 to 2039" . Retrieved February 2, 2022.
8. "The Big Sky Conference Welcomes Southern Utah, Utah Tech Starting in 2026". Big Sky Conference.