Southern Utah Thunderbirds football

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^[2] as a member of the United Athletic Conference.

Southern Utah Thunderbirds football
2025 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team
First season	1963; 62 years ago (1963)
Athletic director	Doug Knuth
Head coach	DeLane Fitzgerald 3rd season, 18–16 (.529)
Stadium	Eccles Coliseum (capacity: 8,500)
Year built	1967
Field surface	Hellas Matrix Turf (since 2012)
Location	Cedar City, Utah
Conference	United Athletic Conference (Big Sky in 2026)
Past conferences	Independent (1963–1968) Rocky Mountain (1969–1985) Western Football (1986–1992) American West (1993–1995) Independent (1996–2003) Great West (2004–2011) Big Sky (2012–2021) WAC (2022)
All-time record	241–303–10 (.444)
Conference titles	4 (1993, 2010, 2015, 2017)
Division titles	1 (1970)
Rivalries	Northern Arizona (rivalry) Weber State (rivalry) Utah Tech (rivalry)
Colors	Scarlet and white[1]
Website	suutbirds.com

The Thunderbirds play their home games on campus at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah, and have been led by head coach DeLane Fitzgerald since 2021.^[3]

History

Southern Utah fielded its inaugural team in 1963 with Bruce Osborne as head coach,^[4] remained an NAIA independent through 1968, then became a charter member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC).^[5] The Thunderbirds were members of the RMAC from 1969 to 1985, with an overall record of 86–73–3 (.540) during that time.^[4] After 1985, Southern Utah moved to NCAA Division II and joined the Western Football Conference (WFC).^[6] While in the WFC from 1986 to 1992, the Thunderbirds' overall record was 41–34–1 (.546).^[4]

In 1993, Southern Utah moved up to Division I-AA and joined the American West Conference (AWC) as a charter member.^[7] The AWC folded after the 1995 season, and the Thunderbirds were 9–23–1 (.288) overall in those three years. They were an independent for eight years,^[8] then became a charter conference member again in 2004 with the Great West Conference (GWC).^[9]

In November 2010, Southern Utah announced its admission to the Big Sky Conference, effective in 2012.^[10]

The Thunderbirds won their first Big Sky championship in 2015, defeating Northern Arizona 49–41 in the regular season finale at Cedar City. They had an 8–3 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 was promoted.^[11]

In 2017, Southern Utah won their second Big Sky title, finishing the regular season at 9–2, 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.^[12] 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.^[13][14]

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–present)

Championships

Conference championships

Year	Coach	Conference	Overall record	Conference record
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

Year	Coach	Division championship	Opponent	CG result
1970†	Tom Kingsford	RMAC Mountain	N/A lost tiebreaker to Western New Mexico
Division Championships			1

† Co-champions

FCS Playoffs results

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

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
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

^[15]

Coach	Tenure	Record	Pct
Bruce Osborne	1963–1964	9–6–1	.594
Bill Reeske	1965–1966	8–8	.500
Tom Kingsford	1967–1977	49–53	.480
Jack Bishop	1978–1982 1986–1995	80–74–4	.519
Don Conrad	1983–1985	14–14–1	.500
Rich Ellerson	1996	4–7	.364
C. Ray Gregory	1997–2002	28–38	.424
Gary Andersen	2003	4–7	.364
Wes Meier	2004–2007	10–33	.233
Ed Lamb	2008–2015	45–47	.489
Demario Warren	2016–2021	21–42	.333
DeLane Fitzgerald	2022–present	1–1	.500

Gallery

• 
  SUU Eccles Coliseum from East
• 
  SUU Eccles Coliseum close up
• 
  SUU Eccles Coliseum - Utah Summer Games Torch
• 
  SUU Eccles Coliseum left
• 
  SUU Eccles Coliseum middle
• 
  SUU Eccles Coliseum right
• 
  SUU Eccles Coliseum left closer
• 
  SUU Eccles Coliseum middle closer
• 
  SUU Eccles Coliseum right closer
• 
  SUU Eccles Coliseum back of west side

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of December 23, 2024.^[16]

2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034	2035	2036	2037	2038	2039
Idaho State	Weber State	San Diego	at Northern Arizona	at Weber State	Weber State	at BYU	at Northern Arizona	Northern Arizona	at Northern Arizona	Northern Arizona	at Northern Arizona	Northern Arizona	at Northern Arizona	Northern Arizona
at San Diego	at Colorado State	at Wyoming	Weber State	Northern Arizona	at Northern Arizona	at Weber State
Northern Arizona	at St. Thomas	at Weber State				Northern Arizona
at UC Davis