SPORTS TEAM HISTORY

Sports Team HistorySports Logo History
  • Home
  • Sports History
    • Baseball History
    • Basketball History
    • College History
    • Football History
    • Hockey History
    • Soccer History
  • Greatest Player Polls
  • More…
    • STH News
    • Team History Forum
    • Sports Team History Products
STH #3 Home Header 1440x650

Southern Utah Thunderbirds School History

STH Greatest Player Polls Banner
Sports Market History Banner #4
STH Products Sale Banner
Sports News History Banner
Southern Utah Thunderbirds




Thunderbirds Primary Logo
Thunderbirds Alternate Logo
Thunderbirds Wordmark Logo

History of the Thunderbirds

The Southern Utah Thunderbirds are the varsity athletic teams representing Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah, in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsors seventeen teams, including six men’s sports: basketball, cross country, football, golf, and track and field, and nine women's sports: basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball. The baseball program was dropped after the 2011–12 season. The Thunderbirds competed in NCAA Division I and joined the Big Sky Conference on July 1, 2012, after departing from The Summit League.





College Sports Established
1963

Location
Cedar City, Utah

College Name
Southern Utah University

Collegiate History
1993 - Present / NCAA Division I–AA / FCS
1986 - 1992 / NCAA Division II
1963 - 1985 / National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

Conference History
2022 - Present / Western Athletic Conference
2012 – 2021 / Big Sky Conference
2004 - 2011 / Great West Conference
1996 - 2003 / I-AA Independent
1993 - 1995 / American West Conference
1986 - 1992 / Western Football Conference
1969 - 1985 / Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
1963 - 1968 / Independent

Nickname
Thunderbirds - In the earliest years of the institution, the University of Utah's Branch Normal School in Cedar City was like many such schools in the nation and did not have a nickname, but by the time the school had evolved to the Branch Agricultural School under the auspices of the Utah Agricultural College in Logan (the Aggies), Utah, the school's Cedar City teams became known as the Branch Aggies. However, the school needed it own unique mascot to usher in the college's inaugural 1946 football season, and the Branch Agricultural College became known as the Broncos.

The BAC Broncos grew in number and notoriety across the college's early years of athletic competition in the Mountain West region. Unfortunately, many other schools of similar agricultural roots found the bronco a befitting mascot, and the strength of its good luck charms felt muddled when pitted against a fellow bronco herd. So, in 1961, just a few years after the Branch Agricultural College became the College of Southern Utah, the broncos became thunderbirds and, with the exception of a 2008 April Fools stunt in which the University purportedly became the SUU Prairie Dogs, the Thunderbirds have flown high and proud.

There are some 1,200 member schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and each one has a nickname, with birds and cats dominating the list of teams. There are no fewer than 176 genera of cats, from lions and tigers and wildcats to tomcats. And, there are 152 birds represented, including the 44 variants of eagles, the most popular name in the NCAA. However, there is but one school that can boast of its thunderbird.

NCAA Championships
Baseball 0

Men's Basketball 0

Women's Basketball 0

Football 0

Soccer 0

Who is the greatest Southern Utah Thunderbirds?
  • Add your greatest player

To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that the player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.

Sports News History

Sports News Worth Knowing

RSS NCAA Football Headline News

  • One question each SEC team must answer during spring practices ahead of 2023 college football season
  • Three teams that can make the playoff for the first time, and three looking to return
  • New York offensive lineman Rowan Byrne is now a four-star recruit
  • Former Clemson, Missouri QB Kelly Bryant to try out for WWE ahead of WrestleMania 39
  • Alabama RB Richard Young draws comparison to Josh Jacobs

Sports Market History

Sports Team Marketplace of Champions!

Sports Team Office Products

Loading RSS Feed

College Logo Battle

Greatest Player Polls

STH Product Sale

College Schools
Menu
  • ACC
    • Boston College Eagles
    • Clemson Tigers
    • Duke Blue Devils
    • Florida State Seminoles
    • Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
    • Louisville Cardinals
    • Miami Hurricanes
    • North Carolina State Wolfpack
    • North Carolina Tar Heels
    • Notre Dame Fighting Irish
    • Pittsburgh Panthers
    • Syracuse Orange
    • Virginia Cavaliers
    • Virginia Tech Hokies
    • Wake Forest Demon Deacons
  • American Athletic
    • Central Florida Knights
    • Cincinnati Bearcats
    • East Carolina Pirates
    • Houston Cougars
    • Memphis Tigers
    • SMU Mustangs
    • South Florida Bulls
    • Temple Owls
    • Tulane Green Wave
    • Tulsa Golden Hurricane
    • Wichita State Shockers
  • ASUN
    • Austin Peay Governors
    • Bellarmine Knights
    • Central Arkansas Bears
    • Eastern Kentucky Colonels
    • Florida Gulf Coast Eagles
    • Jacksonville Dolphins
    • Jacksonville State Gamecocks
    • Kennesaw State Owls
    • Liberty Flames
    • Lipscomb Bisons
    • North Alabama Lions
    • North Florida Ospreys
    • Stetson Hatters
  • Atlantic 10
    • Davidson Wildcats
    • Dayton Flyers
    • Duquesne Dukes
    • Fordham Rams
    • George Mason Patriots
    • George Washington Colonials
    • La Salle Explorers
    • Loyola Ramblers
    • Massachusetts Minutemen
    • Rhode Island Rams
    • Richmond Spiders
    • Saint Louis Billikens
    • St. Bonaventure Bonnies
    • St. Joseph’s Hawks
    • Virginia Commonwealth Rams
  • Big 10
    • Illinois Fighting Illini
    • Indiana Hoosiers
    • Iowa Hawkeyes
    • Maryland Terrapins
    • Michigan State Spartans
    • Michigan Wolverines
    • Minnesota Golden Gophers
    • Nebraska Cornhuskers
    • Northwestern Wildcats
    • Ohio State Buckeyes
    • Penn State Nittany Lions
    • Purdue Boilermakers
    • Rutgers Scarlet Knights
    • Wisconsin Badgers
  • Big 12
    • Baylor Bears
    • Iowa State Cyclones
    • Kansas Jayhawks
    • Kansas State Wildcats
    • Oklahoma Sooners
    • Oklahoma State Cowboys
    • TCU Horned Frogs
    • Texas Longhorns
    • Texas Tech Red Raiders
    • West Virginia Mountaineers
  • Big East
    • Butler Bulldogs
    • Connecticut Huskies
    • Creighton Bluejays
    • DePaul Blue Demons
    • Georgetown Hoyas
    • Marquette Golden Eagles
    • Providence Friars
    • Seton Hall Pirates
    • St. John’s Red Storm
    • Villanova Wildcats
    • Xavier Musketeers
  • Big Sky
    • Idaho State Bengals
    • Idaho Vandals
    • Montana Grizzlies
    • Montana State Bobcats
    • Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
    • Northern Colorado Bears
    • Portland State Vikings
    • Sacramento State Hornets
    • Weber State Wildcats
    • Past Teams
      • Southern Utah Thunderbirds
  • Big West
    • Cal Poly Mustangs
    • Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners
    • Cal State Fullerton Titans
    • Cal State Northridge Matadors
    • Hawaii Warriors
    • Long Beach State 49ers
    • UC Davis Aggies
    • UC Irvine Anteaters
    • UC Riverside Highlanders
    • UC San Diego Tritons
    • UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
  • C-USA
    • Charlotte 49ers
    • FIU Panthers
    • Florida Atlantic Owls
    • Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
    • Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
    • North Texas Mean Green
    • Rice Owls
    • UAB Blazers
    • UTEP Miners
    • UTSA Roadrunners
    • Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
    • Future Team
      • Sam Houston State Bearkats
  • Ivy
    • Brown Bears
    • Columbia Lions
    • Cornell Big Red
    • Dartmouth Big Green
    • Harvard Crimson
    • Penn Quakers
    • Princeton Tigers
    • Yale Bulldogs
  • MAC
    • Akron Zips
    • Ball State Cardinals
    • Bowling Green Falcons
    • Buffalo Bulls
    • Central Michigan Chippewas
    • Eastern Michigan Eagles
    • Kent State Golden Flashes
    • Miami (Ohio) Redhawks
    • Northern Illinois Huskies
    • Ohio Bobcats
    • Toledo Rockets
    • Western Michigan Broncos
  • Missouri Valley
    • Belmont Bruins
    • Bradley Braves
    • Drake Bulldogs
    • Evansville Purple Aces
    • Illinois State Redbirds
    • Indiana State Sycamores
    • Missouri State Bears
    • Murray State Racers
    • Northern Iowa Panthers
    • Southern Illinois Salukis
    • UIC Flames
    • Valparaiso Beacons
  • Mountain West
    • Air Force Falcons
    • Boise State Broncos
    • Colorado State Rams
    • Fresno State Bulldogs
    • Nevada Wolf Pack
    • New Mexico Lobos
    • San Diego State Aztecs
    • San Jose State Spartans
    • UNLV Rebels
    • Utah State Aggies
    • Wyoming Cowboys
  • Ohio Valley
    • Eastern Illinois Panthers
    • Lindenwood Lions
    • Little Rock Trojans
    • Morehead State Eagles
    • SE Missouri State Redhawks
    • SIU Edwardsville Cougars
    • Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles
    • Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks
    • Tennessee State Tigers
    • Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
  • PAC 12
    • Arizona State Sun Devils
    • Arizona Wildcats
    • California Golden Bears
    • Colorado Buffaloes
    • Oregon Ducks
    • Oregon State Beavers
    • Southern California Trojans
    • Stanford Cardinal
    • UCLA Bruins
    • Utah Utes
    • Washington Huskies
    • Washington State Cougars
  • Patriot
    • American Eagles
    • Army Black Knights
    • Boston Terriers
    • Bucknell Bisons
    • Colgate Raiders
    • Holy Cross Crusaders
    • Lafayette Leopards
    • Lehigh Mountain Hawks
    • Loyola-Maryland Greyhounds
    • Navy Midshipmen
  • SEC
    • Alabama Crimson Tide
    • Arkansas Razorbacks
    • Auburn Tigers
    • Florida Gators
    • Georgia Bulldogs
    • Kentucky Wildcats
    • LSU Tigers
    • Mississippi State Bulldogs
    • Missouri Tigers
    • Ole Miss Rebels
    • South Carolina Gamecocks
    • Tennessee Volunteers
    • Texas A&M Aggies
    • Vanderbilt Commodores
  • Southland
    • Houston Christian Huskies
    • Incarnate Word Cardinals
    • Texas A&M Commerce Lions
  • Southwestern
    • Alabama A&M Bulldogs
    • Alabama State Hornets
    • Alcorn State Braves
    • Bethune–Cookman Wildcats
    • Florida A&M Rattlers
    • Grambling State Tigers
    • Jackson State Tigers
    • Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils
    • Prairie View A&M Panthers
    • Southern Jaguars
    • Texas Southern Tigers
  • Sun Belt
    • Appalachian State Mountaineers
    • Arkansas State Red Wolves
    • Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
    • Georgia Southern Eagles
    • Georgia State Panthers
    • James Madison Dukes
    • Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
    • Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks
    • Marshall Thundering Herd
    • Old Dominion Monarchs
    • South Alabama Jaguars
    • Southern Miss Golden Eagles
    • Texas State Bobcats
    • Troy Trojans
  • West Coast
    • BYU Cougars
    • Gonzaga Bulldogs
    • Loyola Marymount Lions
    • Pacific Tigers
    • Pepperdine Waves
    • Portland Pilots
    • Saint Marys Gaels
    • San Diego Toreros
    • San Francisco Dons
    • Santa Clara Broncos

STH News

Latest Sports Team History News

History Of the Oldest NBA Team: Sacramento Kings

March 21, 2023

The Historic Success of Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski

March 21, 2023

The Sponsorship History of New York Red Bulls

March 16, 2023

It’s Now Clear: Ronaldo’s Exit Was Best for Both Manchester United and Cristiano

March 14, 2023

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Search in posts
Search in pages
Sports Logo History
Sports News History
Sports Market History
  • About
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy

Sports Team History
© 2013 - 2023 Sports History Group LLC - All Rights Reserved
  • Arizona Hotshots
  • Atlanta Legends
  • Birmingham Iron
  • Memphis Express
  • Orlando Apollos
  • Salt Lake Stallions
  • San Antonio Commanders
  • San Diego Fleet