Southern Utah Thunderbirds football


The Southern Utah Thunderbirds football program is a college football team that represents Southern Utah University. With a history dating back to 1963, SUU currently competes in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision as a member of the Big Sky Conference. The Thunderbirds play their home games on campus at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah, and have been led by head coach Demario Warren

History

Southern Utah fielded their inaugural team in 1963 with Bruce Osborne as head coach, remained an NAIA independent through 1968, then became a charter member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Thunderbirds were members of the RMAC from 1969 to 1985, with an overall record of during After 1985, Southern Utah moved up to and joined the Western Football Conference While in the WFC from 1986 to 1992, the Thunderbirds' overall record was
In 1993, Southern Utah moved up to and joined the American West Conference as a The AWC folded after the 1995 season, and the Thunderbirds were overall in those three years. They were an independent for then became a charter conference member again in 2004 with the Great West Conference.
In November 2010, Southern Utah announced their admission to the Big Sky Conference, effective
The Thunderbirds won their first Big Sky championship in 2015, defeating Northern Arizona in the regular season finale at Cedar City. They had an 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
In 2017, Southern Utah won their second Big Sky title, finishing the regular season at with wins over four ranked 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.
;Football classifications
The Thunderbirds have appeared in the FCS playoffs three times with an overall record of 0–3.

Head coaches