All Three Utah FCS Programs Will Share the Big Sky in 2026

For the first time, Utah's three FCS football programs will compete in the same conference. On July 1, 2026, Southern Utah and Utah Tech join the Big Sky as full members, lining up alongside Weber State, which has called the league home for decades. Starting with the 2026-27 academic year, the drive from Ogden to Cedar City to St. George connects three programs under one conference banner.

The Big Sky announced both additions in June 2025, and the schools confirmed the move through their athletic departments. It is a geographically logical step in a realignment era that has not always rewarded geography.

A conference that grows to eleven

With Southern Utah and Utah Tech aboard, the Big Sky reaches 11 full members for 2026-27: Eastern Washington, Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Weber State, Southern Utah, and Utah Tech. UC Davis and Cal Poly remain football-only members.

For two of those programs, the move is a homecoming and an arrival at the same time.

Southern Utah returns to a familiar league

Southern Utah is not new to the Big Sky. The Thunderbirds competed in the conference from 2012 to 2022 and won nine league championships across those ten seasons before a detour through the United Athletic Conference. Rejoining restores rivalries and a competitive history the program already knows well.

On the field, SUU's recent story runs through its quarterback room. SUU football has built around transfer arrival Will Burns and in-state contributors such as Bronson Barron, giving Cedar City a roster identity to carry into the league change. When the 2026-27 season begins, Southern Utah will field 14 teams competing for Big Sky championships, from football and basketball to cross country, golf, track and field, soccer, softball, and volleyball.

Utah Tech arrives as a full Division I member

Utah Tech, the St. George program formerly known as Dixie State, completed its full transition to Division I in 2025 and now steps into a conference home built for the long term. Greater Zion Stadium gives the Trailblazers a real FCS football venue, and the Big Sky gives the program a stable competitive structure after years of transition.

Utah Tech football has leaned on veteran transfer experience, including quarterback Deacon Hill and in-state pieces like Jace Sweeten. When the 2026-27 season opens, at least 13 Trailblazer teams will compete for Big Sky championships.

Why three-in-one matters

Putting Weber State, Southern Utah, and Utah Tech in the same league changes the texture of Utah FCS football. In-state games that once required cross-conference scheduling now arrive built into the calendar. For recruits weighing Ogden, Cedar City, and St. George, the conference is no longer a point of difference — the decision comes down to fit, depth chart, and campus.

Weber State, the league's longtime Utah anchor, has its own recent throughline in players like quarterback Jackson Gilkey and defenders such as Brayden Wilson. Adding two in-state opponents gives the Wildcats' schedule a sharper regional edge.

The travel and rivalry math

Geography is the quiet winner here. For years, Utah's FCS programs sat in different leagues, which meant in-state matchups had to be arranged as non-conference games or skipped entirely. Inside one conference, Weber State, Southern Utah, and Utah Tech now have built-in reasons to meet every year, with conference standings and postseason seeding on the line rather than a one-off scheduling favor. The travel map tightens too: a league long anchored in the northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest gains a firmer southern-Utah footprint, and for the two newcomers, a Big Sky schedule built partly around regional opponents is easier on budgets and players than scattered national travel. For fans in Ogden, Cedar City, and St. George, the upshot is concrete — more games that matter within driving distance, on a calendar that finally treats the three programs as neighbors.

The bigger Utah picture

The Big Sky shuffle is one piece of a busy realignment year for Utah. At the top level, BYU and Utah compete in the Big 12, and Utah State is moving from the Mountain West to a rebuilt Pac-12 for 2026. Layer the FCS programs' Big Sky alignment on top, and the state's Division I map is being redrawn at every level at once. For the top-tier side of that story, see Utah State's move to the Pac-12.

For fans, the practical upshot is simpler than the realignment chessboard suggests: more in-state games that count, in one league, starting in 2026.

## Key facts: - Move: Southern Utah and Utah Tech join the Big Sky on July 1, 2026 (2026-27 academic year) - First-time alignment: Weber State, Southern Utah, and Utah Tech share a conference for the first time - Big Sky full members for 2026-27 (11): Eastern Washington, Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Weber State, Southern Utah, Utah Tech (UC Davis and Cal Poly remain football-only) - Southern Utah history: Big Sky member 2012-22, nine league titles in ten seasons - Utah Tech: completed its full Division I transition in 2025; plays football at Greater Zion Stadium - Sources: Big Sky Conference, Weber State Athletics, KUER