| Southern Utah Thunderbirds | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Southern Utah University |
| Conference | Western Athletic Conference (primary) United Athletic Conference (football) MPSF (women's gymnastics) Big Sky Conference (primary, starting 2026) |
| NCAA | Division I (FCS) |
| Athletic director | Tom Higbee (interim) |
| Location | Cedar City,Utah |
| Varsity teams | 13 (5 men's and 8 women's) |
| Football stadium | Eccles Coliseum |
| Basketball arena | America First Event Center |
| Soccer stadium | Thunderbird Park Complex |
| Nickname | Thunderbirds |
| Colors | Scarlet and white[1] |
| Website | suutbirds |
TheSouthern Utah Thunderbirds are the varsity athletic teams representingSouthern Utah University inCedar 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.[2] The Thunderbirds compete inNCAA Division I as part of theWestern Athletic Conference, after departing from theBig Sky Conference on July 1, 2022.[3] The Thunderbirds will rejoin the Big Sky for most sports (including football) at the start of the 2026-27 academic year.[4] Previously, the Thunderbirds competed as members of theSummit League and theAmerican West Conference.
.Since 1961, Southern Utah has used the Thunderbird as its team mascot in the sports events they participate in. Its football team mascot is an even more powerful version of the Thunderbird, as it is inspired byThor, a well-known god ofNorse mythology.[5]
In 2022, the Thunderbirds left the Big Sky Conference and joined theWestern Athletic Conference.[3] Thefootball team played the 2022 season in a partnership between the WAC and theAtlantic Sun Conference. After that season, the two conferences merged their football leagues, creating what eventually became theUnited Athletic Conference.
The women's gymnastics team, also known as theFlippin' Birds, is a member of theMountain Pacific Sports Federation, joining that for the 2023–24 season after the demise of its former gymnastics home of theMountain Rim Gymnastics Conference.[6]
On June 25, 2025, the Thunderbirds announced that they would be joining the Big Sky Conference alongside fellow WAC member and rivalUtah Tech starting in 2026.[4] That September, thePac-12 Conference announced that the Flippin' Birds would join as a single-sport member, also in 2026.[7]
A member of theWestern Athletic Conference. SUU sponsors teams in six men's and nine women'sNCAA sanctioned sports.[8]
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Basketball | Basketball |
| Cross country | Cross country |
| Football | Golf |
| Golf | Gymnastics |
| Track and field† | Soccer |
| Softball | |
| Track and field† | |
| Volleyball | |
| † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor | |
| Full members |  | |
|---|---|---|
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