The Southern Utah Thunderbirds football (also referred to as the SUU Thunderbirds) 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 Big Sky Conference.

The Thunderbirds play their home games on campus at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah, and have been led by head coach DeLane Fitzgerald

History Southern Utah fielded its inaugural team in 1963 with Bruce Osborne as head coach, remained an NAIA independent through 1968, then became a charter member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). The Thunderbirds were members of the RMAC from 1969 to 1985, with an overall record of during After 1985, Southern Utah moved to and joined the Western Football Conference While in the WFC from 1986 to 1992, the Thunderbirds' overall record was

In 1993, Southern Utah moved up to and joined the American West Conference (AWC) as a The AWC folded after the 1995 season, and the Thunderbirds were overall in those three years. They were an independent for then became a charter conference member again in 2004 with the Great West Conference (GWC).

In November 2010, Southern Utah announced its admission to the Big Sky Conference, effective

The Thunderbirds won their first Big Sky championship in 2015, defeating Northern Arizona in the regular season finale at Cedar City. They had an regular season, with losses to Utah State, South Dakota State, and Portland State; their eight wins were by mostly large margins. With the success, head coach Ed Lamb joined the staff at Brigham Young in Provo and defensive coordinator Demario Warren

In 2017, Southern Utah won their second Big Sky title, finishing the regular season at with wins over four ranked (FCS) teams: Northern Iowa, Weber State, Eastern Washington, and NAU. The Thunderbirds earned the eighth seed in the FCS playoffs; Warren was the conference coach of the year and was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.

SUU joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), already home to regional rival Utah Tech, in 2022. After the 2022 season, the WAC fully merged its football league with that of the ASUN Conference, creating what eventually became the United Athletic Conference, and SUU accordingly moved its football team to the new league.

Football classifications 1963–1985: National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics 1986–1992: NCAA Division II 1993–present: NCAA Division I-AA/FCS

Conference affiliations Independent (1963–1968) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (1969–1985) Western Football Conference (1986–1992) American West Conference (1993–1995) I-AA Independent (1996–2003) Great West Conference (2004–2011) Big Sky Conference (2012–2021) Western Athletic Conference (2022) United Athletic Conference (2023–2025) Big Sky Conference (2026–present)

Championships Conference championships 1993 Jack Bishop American West Conference 3–7–1 3–1 2010 Ed Lamb Great West Conference 6–5 4–0 2015 Big Sky Conference 8–4 7–1 2017† Demario Warren 9–3 7–1 Conference Championships 4 † Co-champions

Division championships 1970† Tom Kingsford RMAC Mountain N/A lost tiebreaker to Western New Mexico Division Championships 1 † Co-champions

FCS playoff results The Thunderbirds have appeared in the FCS playoffs three times with an overall record of 0–3.

2013 First Round Sam Houston State L 20–51 2015 First Round Sam Houston State L 39–42 2017 Second Round Weber State L 13–30

Head coaches

Bruce Osborne 1963–1964 9–6–1 Bill Reeske 1965–1966 8–8 Tom Kingsford 1967–1977 49–53 Jack Bishop 1978–19821986–1995 80–74–4 Don Conrad 1983–1985 14–14–1 Rich Ellerson 1996 4–7 C. Ray Gregory 1997–2002 28–38 Gary Andersen 2003 4–7 Wes Meier 2004–2007 10–33 Ed Lamb 2008–2015 45–47 Demario Warren 2016–2021 21–42 DeLane Fitzgerald 2022–present 25–21

Gallery

Future non-conference opponents Announced schedules as of June 25, 2026.

Weber State at Utah at Sacramento State at BYU at Colorado State at Wyoming at St. Thomas San Diego Chicago State

References

External links