Realignment
How Utah's Division I map is being redrawn at once — UVU to the Big West, Utah State to the Pac-12, and the three FCS programs sharing the Big Sky — and what each move means for athletes, recruiting, and travel. Elevating every sport in Utah.
Last updated June 21, 2026
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Useful routes
Start with the strongest path for your sport, school, athlete, or partnership need.
What the Big West move changes for Utah Valley athletes in 2026-27.
Open routeThe top-tier side of Utah's realignment year, rebuilt for 2026.
Open routeWeber State, SUU, and Utah Tech share a conference for the first time.
Open routeStories
Sourced stories and athlete features that make this topic easier to understand, share, and revisit.
Utah Valley leaves the WAC for the Big West on July 1, 2026, competing in 13 league-sponsored sports while wrestling stays affiliated with the Big 12.
Southern Utah and Utah Tech join the Big Sky on July 1, 2026, putting Weber State, SUU, and Utah Tech in the same conference for the first time.
Utah State leaves the Mountain West on June 30, 2026 and joins a rebuilt eight-team Pac-12 the next day — the biggest change to the Aggies' national footprint in a generation.
Utah Tech's conference move needs local anchors too. Jace Sweeten gives the Trailblazers a Crimson Cliffs linebacker profile inside the spring roster.
Utah Tech's 2025 season-opener release put a fifth-year quarterback with Iowa starts at the top of the depth chart, giving the Trailblazers a real profile heading into their Big Sky transition.
Southern Utah heads into a Big Sky Conference transition with a quarterback room that Thunderbirds coaches called one of their biggest 2025 strengths, and transfer Will Burns gives the Thunderbirds a dual-threat arrival story.
Athletes
Athlete pages give each story a durable place to live after the post, tag, or game result moves on.
Sami Blackett is a 6-1 junior outside hitter from Orem who leads Utah State in kills, service aces and points in the Aggies' first Pac-12 season. The 2023 Utah 4A State Player of the Year and a two-time First Team All-WAC selection at Utah Valley, she is the only Aggie ranked among the team's top five in all five statistical categories, and produced a season-high 20 kills against her former program on September 17, 2026.
Alyvia Jaffa was a Utah Valley middle blocker from Morgan High School and Utah Hive who played through the 2025 season, when she set a career high against Navy. She is no longer listed on the Wolverines' 2026 volleyball roster.
Bryson Barnes is a former Utah State quarterback from Milford, Utah who signed with the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks in May 2026 after a rookie minicamp with the Cleveland Browns. A former Utah walk-on, he was the Aggies' every-game starter in 2025 and earned second-team All-Mountain West honors as a fifth-year senior.
Mason Falslev is a 6-foot-4 Utah State junior guard from Benson, Utah and Sky View High School. Utah State's own April 2026 releases named him the Mountain West Player of the Year and a CSC Academic All-American, the first Aggie men's basketball player to earn Academic All-America honors since Justin Bean in 2022.
Jackson Gilkey is a former Weber State quarterback from Ennis, Texas who transferred to Tarleton State for 2026 after entering the portal. He won the Wildcats' starting job out of 2025 fall camp and started the first five games before a fractured left fibula at UC Davis ended his season.
Will Burns is a Southern Utah redshirt junior quarterback from Mission Viejo, California and Trabuco Hills High School. SUU's own 2025 preview documented his arrival from Golden West College, where he was named the 2024 Southern California Football Association Offensive Player of the Year after 1,857 passing yards and 22 touchdowns.
Deacon Hill is a Utah Tech fifth-year quarterback from Santa Barbara, California and Santa Barbara High School by way of Wisconsin and Iowa. Utah Tech's own 2025 opener release confirmed his return after starting four of five games in 2024 before a season-ending injury.
Brayden Wilson is a former Weber State defensive end from Kaysville, Utah and Farmington High School who transferred to Wyoming. A two-time All-Big Sky selection, he led the Big Sky in tackles for loss in 2024 and finished his Weber State career with 138 tackles, 30 for loss and 12.5 sacks.
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