Weber State has company. The Wildcats are no longer going to be the lone member of the Big Sky Conference residing in the state of Utah. Utah Tech and Southern Utah are joining the conference from the WAC.
SUU is making a return to the Big Sky as it was a member of the conference from 2012 through 2022 before its absence the last three years. For Utah Tech, the Big Sky will be the school’s second-ever Division-I conference affiliation as it was in the WAC since moving up from Division II in 2020.
The Thunderbirds men’s basketball team won 20 games in each of its last two seasons in the Big Sky (2021, 2022) as well as first season in the WAC (2023). They won the regular season championship in 2021 with a 12-2 mark in conference but fell to Montana State in the semifinals. They went 12-19 overall and 4-12 in the WAC last season.
Southern Utah’s women’s basketball team had three years over .500 in its decade in the Big Sky. The Thunderbirds won the WAC in their first season in the league in 2023. They want 9-21 overall and 7-9 in the WAC last year.
The Trailblazers men’s basketball team has yet to eclipse .500 in its five years at Division I. Their best overall mark came in 2023 at 14-19. They posted 7-26 overall and 2-15 WAC marks last season.
Utah Tech’s women’s basketball team notched back-to-back winning seasons in 2023 and 2024 but took a step back last year with a 6-25 overall record and 1-15 mark in the WAC.
Their additions help to balance out the Big Sky losing Sacramento State to the Big West for all sports except football.
The state of Utah will now have three Big Sky member institutions, the most of any state. The conference is headquartered in Farmington, Utah.
