- On July 1, 2026, four Utah schools changed conference homes: Utah State to the Pac-12, Utah Valley to the Big West, and Southern Utah and Utah Tech to the Big Sky. Here is the full map, including what did not change.
- This story sits inside Utah's football lane and connects to the larger statewide sports picture.
- The story is backed by 12 sources and a visible last-verified date.
October 18, 2026
October 18, 2026
6 min / 1,386 words
12 official links
On July 1, 2026, four Utah schools officially changed conferences. Utah State became a full member of the rebuilt Pac-12, Utah Valley became a full member of the Big West, and Southern Utah and Utah Tech joined the Big Sky. Competition in the new leagues is under way for the 2026-27 academic year. BYU, Utah, Weber State, Westminster and the junior colleges stayed where they were.
This guide pulls the conference releases together in one place. For how each school's division and conference line up, see the Utah college sports divisions guide, and for the running coverage see the conference realignment hub.
The Utah map for 2026-27 at a glance
| School | 2026-27 conference home | What changed | | --- | --- | --- | | Utah State | Pac-12 (full member) | Left the Mountain West; joined July 1, 2026 | | Utah Valley | Big West (full member); wrestling is a Big 12 affiliate | Joined the Big West July 1, 2026 | | Southern Utah | Big Sky (full member); women's gymnastics is a Pac-12 affiliate | Joined the Big Sky July 1, 2026 | | Utah Tech | Big Sky (full member); baseball and men's soccer are Mountain West affiliates | Joined the Big Sky July 1, 2026 | | Weber State | Big Sky | No change | | BYU and Utah | Big 12 | No change | | Westminster | Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | No change in the sources read | | Snow College, SLCC, USU Eastern | Scenic West Athletic Conference | No change in the sources read |
Utah State joins a rebuilt Pac-12
The Pac-12 Board of Directors admitted Utah State effective July 1, 2026, and the university's announcement, dated September 24, 2024, says competition begins for all conference sports in the 2026-27 academic year. Utah State is one of seven new full-time members in a league that now has nine: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas State, Utah State and Washington State.
Football is the narrower lens. The Pac-12's football lineup is eight teams, because Gonzaga is not part of it, and the league lists its football championship game for Friday, December 4, 2026. For Utah State, that means a new schedule, new travel and a new set of recruiting conversations all at once. The full story of the move is in our Utah State Pac-12 coverage.
The Pac-12 also carries 12 affiliate members across five sports for 2026-27. One of them is Utah-based: Southern Utah is listed as the affiliate in women's gymnastics. The wrestling affiliates are Air Force, Northern Colorado, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois and South Dakota State. Utah Valley is not on that list.
Utah Valley goes to the Big West, and wrestling goes elsewhere
The Big West now has 12 full members, and Utah Valley is one of three new ones, alongside California Baptist and Sacramento State. The conference says UVU sponsors 13 Big West sports: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's outdoor track and field, and women's volleyball. The Big West also notes that the arrival marks the return of Big West competition to Utah since Utah State left the league in 2005.
Two details matter for readers who follow specific sports. UVU has no football program, so the Big West move does not touch the football map. And UVU wrestling does not appear in the Big West's list at all. The Big 12's August 20, 2026 release lists Utah Valley as a wrestling affiliate for 2026-27 alongside Missouri, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma and Wyoming, with Arizona State, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and West Virginia as the four full-time wrestling programs. The release adds a regular-season wrestling championship starting in 2026-27, with a nine-program slate whose dual meets run from November 7 to February 17.
Southern Utah and Utah Tech head to the Big Sky
The Big Sky first announced Southern Utah and Utah Tech on June 25, 2025, for a July 1, 2026 start, and both stayed in the Western Athletic Conference until then. With their arrival the Big Sky has 11 full-time members: Eastern Washington, Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Southern Utah, Utah Tech and Weber State. The conference counts 14 Big Sky teams for Southern Utah and 15 for Utah Tech, both including football, and lists Cal Poly and UC Davis as football affiliates.
For Southern Utah, it is a homecoming. The Big Sky says SUU previously competed in the conference from 2012 to 2022. Utah Tech had joined the Western Athletic Conference in 2020, and Southern Utah joined it in 2022.
Utah Tech's July 1 release also describes a split arrangement. Baseball and men's soccer joined the Mountain West on July 1 as affiliate members, women's swimming stays in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, and football is in the Big Sky. The Mountain West's own chronology agrees on the baseball and men's soccer detail.
The Big Sky now has three Utah football programs: Weber State, Southern Utah and Utah Tech. Our Utah FCS Big Sky coverage covers what that means on the field.
What the Mountain West looks like after July 1
Utah State was one of five schools whose affiliation with the Mountain West ended on July 1, 2026, along with Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State and San Diego State, according to the conference's chronology. The league's 2026-27 membership, per its own release, is made up of three groups:
- All-sport members: Air Force, Hawai'i, Nevada, UNLV, New Mexico, San Jose State, UTEP and Wyoming.
- All-sport members outside football: Grand Canyon and UC Davis.
- Affiliate members: Colorado College (women's soccer), North Dakota State (football), Northern Illinois (football and women's gymnastics) and Utah Tech (baseball and men's soccer).
What did not change
BYU and Utah remain in the Big 12. BYU's official 2026 football release lists the Cougars at Utah on Saturday, November 7, in Salt Lake City, marked as a Big 12 game. Weber State is a Big Sky full member, listed that way in the conference's July 1 release.
Westminster competes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, and the Griffins' official site reports the RMAC's 2026-27 preseason coaches' poll for men's golf. Snow College's early-season release describes the opening of Scenic West Athletic Conference play and lists Salt Lake Community College and Utah State University Eastern as its first home conference games. None of the sources read announces a change for Westminster, Snow, SLCC or USU Eastern.
What has not been announced
None of the official conference pages read for this guide, from the Pac-12, Mountain West, Big Sky, Big West or Big 12, announces a 2027-28 membership change involving a Utah school. Realignment moves quickly and conference sites update, so the map above is the 2026-27 picture as of October 18, 2026.
Key facts:
- Utah State: Pac-12 full member effective July 1, 2026 (announced Sept. 24, 2024); competition for all conference sports in 2026-27
- Pac-12 (2026-27): nine full-time members (Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas State, Utah State, Washington State); eight-team football lineup; football championship game listed Fri., Dec. 4, 2026
- Utah Valley: Big West full member July 1, 2026; 13 sponsored Big West sports; no football; wrestling is a Big 12 affiliate for 2026-27
- Big West: 12 full members; new members are Cal Baptist, Sacramento State and Utah Valley
- Southern Utah and Utah Tech: joined the Big Sky July 1, 2026 from the Western Athletic Conference (announced June 25, 2025); the Big Sky counts 14 SUU teams and 15 Utah Tech teams, both with football
- Big Sky: 11 full-time members, including Weber State; football affiliates Cal Poly and UC Davis
- Utah Tech split: baseball and men's soccer are Mountain West affiliates; women's swimming stays in the MPSF
- Mountain West: Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Utah State ended their affiliation July 1, 2026
- No change: BYU and Utah (Big 12), Weber State (Big Sky), Westminster (RMAC), Snow College, SLCC and USU Eastern (Scenic West Athletic Conference)
- Sources: Pac-12, Mountain West, Big Sky, Big West and Big 12 conference releases; Utah State, Utah Tech, BYU, Westminster and Snow athletics